The old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade," has been reinterpreted by Sara Twaddle, CLP, TCLP, to "When life gives you turnips, make a difference to your community."

Greg Vinella, President of ecoSystems landscape Services and Sara Twaddle CLP, TCLP, of Sara Twaddle Consulting, show off the turnips that have been donated to Capital Area Food Bank.

Twaddle, a consultant for ecoSystems Landscape Services in Austin, Texas, told me about her company's recent experience. "We had a funny situation happen when an installation turned up turnips. The landscaping company was turning land into an area for wildflowers near the Shops at Riverplace. Workers moved soil from around the property to the area designated for the flowers, but turnips started turning up. It turns out, the area used to be farmland.

"The turnip seeds were dormant, deep in the soil. Once the soil was spread and seeds got light, water... they popped to life. Naturally, they had to be removed as they were taking over an area we had seeded with native grasses and wildflowers.

"I came up with a win-win solution to donate the turnips to our local area food bank and got my client's whole company to come out and harvest. We donated 3,500 pounds of turnips and more than 800 pounds of turnip greens."

KVUE News in Austin ran the story on the air several times with extensive video.

Michael Guerra of the Capital Area Food Bank says they are thankful for the donation. "We like that creative thinking. (It's) part of what makes Austin nice. People are not going to let something go to waste." Workers at ecoSystems said they wouldn't be surprised if more turnips pop up, and they will continue to donate them to the food bank.

Installation Project Feeds the Hungry, Inside Certification "Certification is Good Business", Volume 5 Issue 1, February 2006