Hands-to-Work is Darrow’s unique program of service to the campus and community through rewarding work that produces visible results. Many of our Hands-to-Work crews directly contribute to or lead sustainability efforts. Side by side, we share work essential to sustaining our campus ecosystem and making the Shaker legacy relevant today. Some examples of sustainability-related Hands-to-Work crews:

• The SEC/Living Machine crew maintains systems in the School’s wastewater treatment facility and leads in electricity conservation efforts on campus.
• The Gardening/Landscaping crew weeds the grape, raspberry, and blueberry plantations, and also harvests the organic garden, providing food for Darrow’s kitchen.
• The Trees crew picks apples, makes cider with a manual press, and plants and prunes trees.
• The Farmers’ Cooperative Market crew travels to a nearby market to help with running a co-op that enables residents to purchase locally grown food.
• The Woodlot Management crew fells and hauls trees, preparing firewood using two-person saws, splitting mauls, and a hydraulic splitter.
• The Maple Sugaring crew cares for the sugar maples and sap lines and prepares the Sugar House for the making of maple syrup.