Cassidy, one of our AmeriCorps Members shared this story:
My year of service began in a whirlwind. Americorps contacted my host site Common Threads Farm with news that there were funds for an additional service member; less than a month later, I found myself boarding a plane in Fort Myers, Florida, bound for Bellingham. My new boss Laura informed me that, given that I was an unanticipated human resource, my position would be ever-evolving but ultimately focused on working with the Title One schools in the community. Upon arriving, we received word that the principal of Birchwood Elementary School had enthusiastically embraced the concept of a Food Educator at his school, and welcomed me to start the following week.
My first day at Birchwood felt like a dream. I learned that the school was once celebrated for having the “Best School Garden” in the school district, but after closing for two years for construction, the garden had grown into a wild field of towering fennel, lush oregano, and forgotten kale. Nevertheless, eight teachers signed up for a forty minute lesson in the garden, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade, and each class greeted me with unbridled enthusiasm.
I began each lesson by having each student close their eyes and imagine a garden, then I asked students to share what they saw. Students shared beautiful descriptions of gardens blooming with tulips and sunflowers, bursting with strawberries and tomatoes, and alive with butterflies and hummingbirds; a place of peaceful reflection, and hands-on learning. I told each student that together, we were going to create the garden of their dreams, then we made our way outside.
The garden, which borders the playground, sparked incredible reactions. Many students were unaware that the garden even existed - yet each student entered eagerly, some even gasping at the sight. I demonstrated how to properly weed, carefully pulling a plant up from its base and ensuring that I uprooted it in its entirety; then the students dived in, laughing and determined.
The efforts I witnessed that day were truly inspiring: students of all ages were joyfully tackling an incredible feat: transforming what looked like a jungle into their very own school garden. Kindergarteners applauded one another for successfully pulling up roots, third graders helped haul a day’s worth of waste to the compost, and fifth graders teamed up on a particularly resistant thicket of grass.
The end of the school day was nearing when Kelly, the teacher tasked with being the Garden Point Teacher, informed me that she had coordinated a school-wide assembly to exclusively discuss the garden - with a special surprise: she adopted two baby goats to help clear some of the overgrowth. She invited me to attend, and as soon as I walked through the doors into the assembly, I was called up on stage and crowned “Garden Queen” by a first grade class who had thoughtfully made me a beautiful sequined crown. Then, Kelly and I slipped outside and carried in the two baby goats, much to the delight and surprise of the entire school. Together, Kelly’s class and I walked the baby goats out to the garden, and watched as the goats hopped and frolicked around, exploring their new home.
The Birchwood community made me feel at home that day, and affirmed how warmly garden programs can be embraced by students of all ages, if only given the opportunity. The students to this day call me the Garden Queen, but the truth is, those students are so much more in my eyes.
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