Help A Little Magic Grow In Pittsford

The Fairy Village in Coastal Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. Photo Credit, Margot Fass 2025.10.19

Can you picture children building and maintaining a little Fairy Village in the Pittsford Village Arboretum in the Spruce forest? Or special art on display in the meadow?

Puzzling Times

Our daughter, Lindsay Fass Graham, Car-Pal founder and owner, is ordinarily so busy that she works non stop from 5:30 am to 7 or 8 pm. For six weeks, her work suddenly dried up. No calls, no leads, no inquiries – nothing. We were all racking our brains to figure out what happened. We never did, but now she is back to back with calls and purchases again, working the same 14 or 15 hours a day. Almost always cheerful.

What happened? A glitch in the universe? A non working link? Protection or a lesson from on high? Strangely, at the same time, something similar happened to A Frog House.

This year, A Frog House (AFH) spearheaded some extraordinary events at the Robert C. Corby Arboretum and Wildlife Sanctuary: three beautiful vernal ponds and a flourishing Tiny Food Forest permaculture garden (TFF), created through finances from A Frog House (AFH), including $500 through the Pittsford Garden Club, hundreds of volunteer hours, a great deal of love, and lots of sweat.

The vernal ponds were almost fully paid for by generous contributions, the first by a single donor, and the rest by many, but the actual building left our coffers dry. Fortunately we were able to cover our operating costs (bookkeeping, tax returns, website publishing, printing, dues, memberships, minimal minimum wage staff—docents, events, general assistance) thanks to some fundraising at our annual Froggy Family Fun(d)raiser Birthday Party.

Because of the timing of those installations, summer events coming up, and a new project to fund, we did not have time to drum up support in advance for the TFF. This TFF actually had been approved by the Village of Pittsford board in the winter of 2020, and then reapproved by the board in early 2025.

The result is something truly beautiful—but also something that now needs the community’s help to sustain and expand on.

Troubles, Troubles

A month ago, we sent out a request for help to cover our expenses for this permaculture garden focal point in the Arboretum, which will grow more beautiful by the year.

We received one donation from a person in the Pittsford Garden Club who spent the most time volunteering, and one from an elderly woman (who lives in the city), our first official AFH member, totaling $70.

While these two women deserve prizes for their generosity and love, the rest of the community has been quiet. I live in the city. Our daughter Lindsay lives in Pittsford, and contributes so much to A Frog House and others with her cheerful fun presence and her marketing and social media skills.

So where is everyone else?

This is your Arboretum too—your sanctuary, your green heart in the village.

There are approximately 30,000 residents in the Town of Pittsford, and 1500 in the Village. At least some of these families will use and enjoy the gem of green space in the village in the coming years.  

The TFF initially was scheduled to be planted in June with a $500 grant from the Pittsford Garden Club, which just covered the cost of native flora.

Maybe we can’t do it.

A heat wave precluded a June planting. Amanda’s Native Garden and Broccolo’s Nursery and Garden Center kindly tended the pre-purchased flowers and shrubs (at generous prices) over the summer.  

The new October 3rd date was nearly scuttled because of at least six objections, chief among which were concerns such as the large and small stones that appeared to be under every square inch of the planned site, too many weeds in the mulch that had been spread in the spring over about one third of the area, no mulch in the other 2/3 of the area.

And yet we persisted. Sometimes I worked alone.

A Little Bit of Magic

Many good thoughts and prayers have sustained us, even retroactively. Before October 3, Steve Castranovo and John Walsh (Pittsford), Kathryn Eible (Scottsville), Payton Carroll (Victor), Jordan Hollands (East Rochester), his friend Charli Une Des (RIT) Priscilla Varland and Sandy Fedrizzi from PGC showed up unannounced to help remove stones and rocks, dig weeds, and fill twenty bags of debris.  

On the actual planting day, on October 3, with the volunteer help of the esteemed and generous Laurie Broccolo, AFH staff Axel Baker, friends John Walsh (again) and Rob Kupka, PGC members JoAnne Shannon and Jessica Berlet,(Co-Presidents), Priscilla Varland and Sandy Fedrizzi (again), Karen Hultz and her husband John, and Judy White, we brought it to life.

Stan Spector (who facilitated the building of his namesake vernal pond) arrived at the end and helped Judy apply zip ties to the fence and stakes.

On Sunday, October 5, Friends of the Arboretum Frank Caccamise and Rob Corby joined me and Axel to help water the garden and a small sapling we had had to transplant.

Steve to the Rescue

Here’s what Steve had to say: “I have lived in the Village of Pittsford for a year and found out about A Frog House when I walked into the Village Arboretum. You (Margot) were getting ready to build the ponds. I volunteered and worked for 3 days on that project, as well as for another 3 days on the Permaculture Tiny Food Forest, raking, digging, planting, picking up rocks, pounding in the fence stakes and putting up the fence. I love to help out, because it’s the right thing to do. It’s great to visit and very important to keep. While I can’t believe it cost $3500 dollars, it doesn’t hurt to ask for donations.”

How Does a Just Society Treat Animals and It’s People?

When Steve and I were pulling up the debris, one tiny mouse fell out of a hole in the bag. It was ripped, so we emptied it. The baby “pup” or “pinky’ burrowed under before I could get out my camera. What a tiny miracle living as a speck to humans, who each are a speck on the earth, which is a speck in the universe. Doesn’t every life count?

Together, we’ve created more than just a garden—we are making a living classroom, a sanctuary for frogs, butterflies, birds, native wildflowers, shrubs and trees and a place where the community can reconnect with nature right in the heart of Pittsford Village age. This is important for the mental and physical health of us all.

But

My labor is 100% volunteer. A Frog House contributed ~ $3,500 of our own funds (which represents a third of what comes annually from my own IRA for operating costs), to bring this vision to life.

We paid three AFH/65 State Street helpers, Gabe Franchi, Axel Baker and Eddie McCrae, ~$250 total.

AFH also paid for deer fence and fence stakes ~$1700, a post digger ~$84, top soil, compost and mulch supplied, delivered, and supervised ~$1500 (an extraordinarily generous price from Laurie Broccolo).

Maintaining and expanding this green gem will take continued community support, and I’ve had to borrow from funds for our next project to cover the costs.

Does It Sound Like I’m Whining?

I’m not. I’m inspired by others’ creations and hope to inspire you as well. And grateful to have such a great playground to develop with others.

How Much is This Worth To You?

Here’s the good news: it doesn’t take much to make a big difference. Looking at the population of the village (~1500),

If every person gave just $3, or if 10% gave $30, or if 10 families contributed $300 (their names listed as contributors), or if 1 family contributed $3,000 (and the garden named after them), we’d almost cover our TFF costs for the year.

Or think of it this way. Would you chip in for the fencing? the stakes? the post digger? how about the top soil, compost and mulch? Every bit helps.

If you want us to keep bringing beauty to our bioregion, please invest in your own community green space—at least as much as others from around the region and even other states have done—because they already see the value of what we’re doing.

Please don’t let yourself be blinded to the benefits you can bring to others through your generosity.  

Yes, I Know Times Are Tough

The world feels noisy and divided—but nature still unites us. A single act of generosity right here in Pittsford can ripple outward, nurturing beauty, curiosity, and connection for years to come.

Imagine children learning about pollinators beside the blooming milkweed. Neighbors meeting by the ponds to watch dragonflies. A place that brings joy and pride for your contribution every time you pass through.

These are the small, hopeful things that make a village feel like home.

Thank you for believing in local green spaces, in community, and in the quiet, powerful work of restoration.

As we move toward Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Chanukah, it’s a season for gratitude, light, and giving back. Giving Tuesday is on December 2, just 3 weeks away, but why wait?

What better gift than helping to nurture a space that brings joy, beauty, and peace to your own community? Pittsford deserves it—and so do you.

Please Donate

Please consider making a donation—of any size—to A Frog House this holiday season. Every gesture, every dollar, helps nature heal and Pittsford bloom.

You can give online or send a check to:
A Frog House c/o 65 State Street, Pittsford, NY, 14534