Children Harvest Giving Garden
The children call it the Giving Garden, a simple idea to plant vegetables and give them to people who need them.
It all began during a brainstorming session. The children who volunteer to maintain some of the flower gardens as well as a Peace Path behind the Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Mohican St. were looking for a new project.
"Could we grow vegetables and give them to people who need them?" they asked adult coordinator Kim Scott.
Scott, to her credit, did not veto the idea or even point out the obstacles. She is an enthusiastic volunteer, who by her own admission, "hates to say no." So she did not put the kid’s idea on hold because of lack of garden space, plants, seeds, and the need for continual maintenance through the summer growing months.
Instead, Scott asked Father Bernard Turner if the children could dig up some of the lawn surrounding the majestic stone church to make a vegetable garden to supply the food pantry. When she got the go-ahead from Father Turner, she helped the children make a list of the things they would need, and then asked the Parish community if anyone could donate the necessary items.
The response from the church parishioners overwhelmed Scott and parent volunteers on more than one occasion.
"Whenever we had a need," says Scott, "someone stepped forward to meet it." The father of one of the volunteers offered to bring a roto-tiller to work the soil. Another parent supplied interlocking wooden beams to contain the 20 by 15 foot raised bed garden. A parishioner who owned a landscaping company showed up to deliver topsoil. Still another dropped off bags of fertilizer. By the end of May, the garden was ready for planting.
"And then the plants began arriving," recounts Scott with a smile. Trays of tomato and pepper plants mysteriously showed up near the gardens. A nursery called with six flats of assorted vegetables to donate. Parents raided their own gardens and dropped off perennials like rhubarb, oregano and chives to add to the undertaking. Tomato cages were purchased with a cash donation.
The children, who usually met for just a few hours to weed and water the flower gardens, decided to devote an entire day to planting the new Giving Garden. When they finished, not a square inch of the garden space was unused.
Over the summer months, volunteers met weekly to weed the garden and harvest the vegetables. Scott acknowledges that it was a lot of work, but notes, "we found out that by being with the kids, working with them for something so good…somehow it gives us the energy to do all the rest."
"We had very good luck this year," says 10-year-old Charlotte Harris, noting that the especially rainy summer kept the plants watered in-between weekly visits.
The volunteers met a few days before the start of fall for the final harvest of the year. It was
obvious that picking the vegetables was a favorite activity. When they finished, the children ogled the overflowing baskets of tomatoes, peppers, melons and squash before they walked across the street to the Food Pantry at the Sacred Heart Parish.
"I think the people (who use the food pantry) will be excited that they have fresh food and that they can give it to their families." said Harris. The parish distributed the vegetables the next day to more than 40 appreciative local families.
"It is really fun and really cool to be able to make something and to grow something," said six-year-old volunteer Grace Harris.
"Working in the gardens makes me happy and makes me feel good about myself," commented older sister Charlotte, who understands that the gardens are not just about growing vegetables.
The success of the project ensures it will continue for many years.
"There is no going back now," says Scott.