by Ellie Matthews, Community of Hope Volunteer
“Gardening is a way of showing that you believe in tomorrow.” I wish I knew who to attribute that quote to, because it’s one of my favorites. And it is so fitting for the abundance of gardening programs we’ve seen popping up at Community of Hope (COH) sites lately. Community gardens are in full bloom at Girard Street Apartments, Hope Apartments, and Marie Reed Elementary School!
Ashley Hartman, Community of Hope’s School Health Educator, worked with a group of 4th graders at Marie Reed to revitalize and expand the existing vegetable garden. Ashley and students planted lettuces, beans, marigolds, radishes, and tomatoes. Their hard work and dedication paid off, and now the tomato plants are 6 feet tall! In the future, Ashley hopes to collaborate with other teachers and staff at Marie Reed to make this a true community garden.
At Hope Apartments, I teamed up with a group of fellow AmeriCorps volunteers this spring to design, build, and maintain a small garden. Not having a designated group of kids to work with us, we weren’t sure what to expect. After spending a morning constructing raised beds and preparing the garden, a few kids from the neighborhood came around to see what we were doing. After some quick lessons on weeding and watering, we’ve created a small army of gardeners-in-training who are there to greet me every time I stop by to check on the plants.
Thanks to City Blossoms, the Girard Street Community Garden is growing like crazy! Three years ago, instructors from City Blossoms started running weekly workshops for kids in the afterschool program at Girard Street. The kids spend time weeding, watering, and harvesting in the garden and also participate in activities and experiments to learn the science behind gardening. Julia Kernan-Schloss, the Children’s Activity Coordinator at Girard Street, says, “It’s a wonderful program that gets the kids outside and teaches them gardening skills and nutrition in a fun and interactive way!”
What I love most about the abundance of gardens at COH programs (aside from all the fresh tomatoes!) is that it gives us all hope for the future. The world is always more beautiful with blooming flowers and fresh-cut herbs. But it’s also a promising place when we teach our children from a young age both to be stewards of the earth and to have something to work towards in the future. Whether this is a plentiful harvest, a high school diploma, or a greener and more peaceful earth, it’s always good to have a little foresight in our lives.
*Photo by City Blossoms
