06/07/2026
This is what Habitat homeownership looks like before the keys are handed over.
Last month, three of our partner families gathered for a Homebuyer Education Series session on landscaping and gardening — taught by two of our own. George, a longtime ReStore volunteer, and Gary, from our build crew (center, in red), are both Cornell-trained Master Gardeners. They offered their time, their knowledge, and their patience to help our homebuyers picture not just the house, but the yard around it.
While the adults took notes, the kids made art. The flowers on the poster carry their names: Tirzah, Ida (with a heart, naturally), Yulysa, Salva, and Angel.
This is the part of Habitat that doesn't fit in a press release. The neighbors who become teachers. The volunteers who keep showing up after the walls are built. The families learning side by side before they're side by side on the same street.
National Homeownership Month is about more than closings. It's about everything that holds a home together once the family moves in.
ulsterhabitat.org
