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.