Recap: Community Gardens and Outdoor Education, Fall 2015

Work in our community gardens this autumn was more fun than usual due to the enthusiastic participation of several groups of young volunteers. Youth from the ages of 4-17 have helped clear beds, rake leaves, and plant trees and bulbs in the Ivy Street, Stevens Street, and Davenport Street gardens this October and November. By working with local youth programs, we at NHS hope to instill in neighborhood kids a sense of ownership over their public spaces, and provide young people with safe spaces to explore and learn about their environment.

Many hands make light work, no matter how small the hands are – and gardening offers no end to educational opportunities. The youngest kids, through the Citycology program at Solar Youth, had a blast learning about compost and worms at the Ivy Street garden. Older students from Solar Youth learned about bulb planting. Youth from Squash Haven who planted trees in the Stevens Street garden not only learned about hoop houses and tree planting, but also developed quite a knack for riding in wheelbarrows. Common Ground High School students, on their community service day, raked and composted in the Ivy Street garden, and also repaired a fence on the outside of the garden. Even seasoned environmental studies students were surprised by what they learned. One freshman from the Sound School, while working along the Farmington Canal Trail, admitted that before he and his classmates saw which bulbs we were planting, he had been confused about why anyone would think burying lightbulbs would be a good idea.

One of the best parts of community gardening with students is that no question is too basic to ask. Outside of a classroom, in an environment without grades or rubrics, curiosity trumps embarrassment, and lessons students understood theoretically become much more real. One Sound School student exclaimed, as she raked up leaves by the community wall on Shelton Avenue, 

“Now I know where all the wrappers go when I drop them on the ground at the bus stop! They all blow over here and then I have to pick them up!” 

A sense of responsibility over the cleanliness of her neighborhood? Check.

We are looking forward to more outdoor programming this spring.

Solar Youth at the Ivy Street Garden!

On Thursday, October 15^th, NHS staff and SolarYouth reunited in the Ivy Street Community Garden. Last spring, NHS introduced Solar Youth to some of the resident gardeners at Ivy Street, which you can read more about here. Our time together in the Ivy Street garden was so successful, and we were thrilled to have them back in the garden.

The afternoon began with snack time and a quick introduction to the garden. Seventeen kids, ages 4 to 13, walked to the garden from their home base at King-Robinson Magnet School. Several high school interns were also present to help the educators supervise the students.  Excitement was high, and everyone wanted to get their hands dirty as soon as possible. The exuberant Solar Youth explorers grabbed rakes and leaf bags to help tidy up in the garden before wintertime. A few students got distracted from this task when they discovered peppers, lettuce, squash and kale in the beds along Ivy Street, and decided instead to examine the area with magnifying glasses and to draw what they found; others took their raking assignments very seriously. At day’s end we had three full bags of leaves and a much tidier garden.

The Solar Youth crew’s curiosity was boundless. Kids discovered spiders and their webs, identified flowers and plants in the garden, and learned that mint leaves taste good (but that it’s a good idea to ask before you pluck). Solar Youth-ers loved entering the greenhouse and discovering how much warmer it was than the rest of the garden. They even found a grasshopper on the ceiling!

After cleanup time, everyone gathered for a group photo. We had a fantastic afternoon in the garden, and we look forward to several more visits from Solar Youth!

Solar Youth at The Ivy Street Garden

The Ivy Street Garden Welcomes Solar Youth

Connecting community groups is one of the Community Building & Organizing team’s favorite ways of contributing to New Haven’s neighborhoods. In Newhallville, we were able to introduce program coordinators and participants of Solar Youth, Inc. to the resident gardeners of the Ivy Street Community Garden. This introduction proved to be rewarding in many ways for everyone involved. The friendship provided welcome help and energy to the gardeners as they began to prepare the garden for new plantings, and gave the young Solar Youthers a space and opportunity to get their hands (and clothing) a little bit dirty. 

Throughout April and May, this particular Solar Youth crew, whose home base is located at King-Robinson Magnet School, walked over to the Ivy Street Community Garden to spend an hour and a half facilitating the garden’s upkeep. Along the way, students had a chance to learn about composting and healthy soil, planting seeds and seedlings, the purpose of a greenhouse, the nurturing process and working together to complete tasks. One occasion even allowed students an opportunity to work alongside two of Newhallville's beat cops. Time was also spent having engaging and fun conversations with the students. We learned that a great way to keep attention was to pass around a daisy as a pretend microphone to allow one speaker at a time. So clever! We’re so appreciative of the great work that Solar Youth does, all around New Haven. We look forward to continuing this collaboration!