School Gardens

Many of you know that I have been posting pictures or comments about our school garden.  I am in charge of this project after the torch got handed to me at the end of last summer.  This year I have only had a couple of kids faithfully come, but that makes it all the more special for me.  I can pour into these few kids more specifically than a huge bunch.

One young girl that signed up to be a garden mentor basically apologizes for existing sometimes.  I have continually told her she doesn't need to apologize for anything when she comes to the garden unless it's something very serious.  My secret goal for her for the summer was to boost her confidence and her ability to be bold.  On the day that I took her and another student to fair, I talked to them about what to expect and things they could talk to the judges about and my own fair days.  She did not apologize once and was so confident when talking to the judges that she was asking the questions too!

I love building relationships with kids in the school that I wouldn't normally come into contact with.  When we get back to school, They have one more adult to come too and trust.  When we get back to school, the kids will continue to talk about the school garden.  Its so great to interact and teach these kids in a non-academic setting and see their dedication and pride as the summer marches on.

School gardens are an amazing project!  Ours started 3 years ago with a grant.  I remember that beautiful spring day with a few of us staff members building the garden beds.  I helped out a little that first summer during summer school.  The kids were so excited to get out and get dirty and take home some veggies.  Last year, I signed up to come every Thursday to help.  I hauled August along and he loved being there too!  That's the beauty of this project.  It's not just for the kids that attend school there.  It's a benefit to the teacher's kids, parents who come along to help, and to other family members that come with the students.  All of these different individuals working together for a common purpose is so cool!

Many of these kids don't know how vegetables they eat on a day to day basis look in their natural form.  Some of the things we've planted the last couple years are new to me as well, so I'm learning right along with the kids.  I've never eaten egg plant before.  We grew it last year and the plant looked pretty neat with beautiful blooms.  This year we planted okra.  I still have no idea what it will look like on the plant, but the plant itself is huge!

I will continue to advocate for our school garden and encourage kids to come.  They need a connection that keeps going after school is out for the summer.  They need a connection to each other, and they need a connection to their food.  Every school should have a school garden!