Blogging and Gardening, Take 2

Seven years ago I found myself in a new town, new home, and decided to try my hand at writing. That didn’t last long as I soon found myself too busy with two new babies--a bouncing baby boy and a brand new school garden project. Family and community life took precedence over capturing interests and learning on paper. Today I find myself in a new town, new home, with another new school garden project. My baby boy is in first grade with a brother in high school. The first school garden I helped develop is all grown up and has become a leader in the region (The Southern Boone Learning Garden). I want to try this writing thing again.

I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on my the similarities and differences between the two garden projects, and what my role is and should be in this second iteration as a result. I’ve only been working for a few months with folks here in Kirkwood, but one thing that is strikingly different on this second project is just how many people were already thinking and working on a similar vision (or at least open to it) when I came on the scene.

In 2013, I am finding many more people that hold a vision of healthy kids, healthy communities, and a healthy environment via school gardens/outdoor ed. The administrators and teachers I meet want kids to understand how systems work so they can tackle complex problems they will face in the future. They want kids to have opportunity for service and for real-life problem solving, and they know that getting kids outdoors and teaching them about gardening and composting will benefit students in myriad ways. I don’t know if that’s due to the fact that the school garden movement has come so far and truly impacted thinking on a large scale since I started this work in 2007, or if I just lucked out. I do know that I am excited and humbled to be a part of some great things happening in my part of the world, and I am thrilled to have the chance to document the process and share it with others.

Similarities:

• Supportive administration--so important, and have been lucky in this way both times around
• Teacher time constraints--so much on their plates, but gardens are such a great way for teachers to “buy back” time by integrating subjects
• Kids’ enthusiasm! They love it, and it’s why so many of us get hooked on school gardens. Who can resist when a child finds a big potato ready for harvest and joyfully shouts, “I’ve hit the jackpot!” I’ve yet to meet that person.

Some differences between Southern Boone and Kirkwood:

• Rural (Ashland)  vs. urban/suburban (Kirkwood)

• Small school district to medium one
• Bedroom community (harder to find school-day volunteers available) with not that many stay-at-home parents to a district with many parents able to volunteer
• More resource constraints in Southern Boone School District than Kirkwood
• Less obesity in Kirkwood than Southern Boone (This is surprising to some. counterintuitive that folks in rural areas have less access to healthy lifestyle contributors like sidewalks, large grocery stores with high quality produce, fitness centers, shorter commute times)