Overview: Students learning about gardening
The program provides educational experiences for students to learn many of the ins and outs of gardening. It also provides the students with an opportunity to give back to their community.
San Carlos Community Garden is making sure a number of Patrick Henry High School students are getting their hands dirty this summer.
The students are part of SCCG’s Youth Ambassador Program.
The program provides educational experiences for students to learn many of the ins and outs of gardening. It also provides the students with an opportunity to give back to their community.
Lara Dickens, a physics/AP environmental science teacher at Patrick Henry High School, said around 10 years ago, a Henry parent and SCCG volunteer invited students in her AP environmental science course to help with a fall garden event.
“The garden was small,” Dickens said. “Students supervised a bounce house and ran the pumpkin smashing booth. Old pumpkins brought by the community were turned into compost using baseball bats. It was awesome.
She added that inviting students to help can be something of a risk.
“You never know how many will show up and how much experience they have,” Dickens said. “As the garden grew, the skills needed were more than swinging a bat. It required volunteers willing to teach students about gardening too.
“Henry students have been involved because there are garden volunteers willing to teach them.”
As Dickens pointed out, when the SCCG asks for student volunteers to help during the school year, the turnout can vary due to conflicts with sports, work or other events. Some years there are more students interested in gardening than others.
Benefits of working the land
For those students able to participate in the activities at SCCG, the benefits are many.
“It is really incredible how much the students can learn when they work at the SCCG,” Dickens said. “They can gain experience working with flowers, fruits, compost, soil, vegetables, trees, seeds and succulents. But they also learn about community planning and the logistics of keeping a community garden sustainable. Growing food takes a lot of work. It takes time. It is not cheap.
“School gardens can give students the impression that gardens are fun and delicious. That is true, but a lot of work is being done by adults year-round when the students aren’t there. This program brings everything together. The skills learned and appreciation for the effort it takes to grow food is something they can use throughout their lives.”
SCCG Education Commitee Board Member Leslie Nelson has been involved in the community garden for about 10 years and working with students of all ages since her kids were in kindergarten at Dailard Elementary.
“I started out with leasing a raised bed and then added another,” Nelson said. “I have been a gardener for 35 years, and always volunteered at Dailard and worked with kids of all ages as my kids grew up (they are both now scientists with my older daughter just getting her PhD in geophysics from UT Austin and my younger one majoring in Biosystems Management/Forestry from UC Berkeley).
“Prior to COVID, I started working with a few students from Patrick Henry on gardening. This became the Henry Gardening Club eventually and I worked with team of students in the summers teaching them about gardening and helping them design and plant raised beds with veggies and flowers.
“We also got students interacting with other gardeners at the SCCG and it was all very positive. They also learned a lot about plants, ecology and we even did a day where I order native bee cocoons of leafcutter bees and we released them as a group. It was a real hit. So I’ve continued to do this each summer with the summer student participants.”
The program was temporarily halted during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. After COVID declined, Patrick Henry tightened regulations on how students could participate at SCCG.
“We came up with a different program,” Nelson continued. “We met with Lara Dickens at Henry and then we found a way to start the Ambassador Program where we could not only teach kids about gardening but also tie into teaching them about how running a non-profit worked and expose them to the big picture about the garden.
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“Last year, the student ambassadors ended their program by coming to our leadership board meeting. They really learned a lot from this about the leadership and business side as well. We were happy because it still provided an avenue for kids to learn more about gardening and helped meet our goal of building community as the kids helped contribute to our growth, while learning a lot about gardening and leadership at the same time.”
Positive effects on the community
As Nelson sees it, the many programs offered by SCCG have had beneficial ripple effects within the community.
“People learn how to garden organically and better understand how to make a positive impact on our environment through the many seminars and through participating in events and as the lessor of our raised beds,” Nelson said. “We still have more to do, but we have come a long way.”
Another individual who has seen the benefits from the program is Payton DeGroote, an educator for the Youth Ambassadors program. While she only started educating there this summer, the San Carlos Community Garden has already had a huge effect on her life. She said she’s hoping to educate there again next summer.
“I’m going into my third year of studying Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, minoring in Restoration Ecology at Colorado State University, but my passion for environmental sciences started young with outdoor exposure and experiencing PHHS’ AP Environmental Science class with Lara Dickens.
“Volunteering here has given me a great hands on experience connecting to what I’ve studied in school regarding biology, ecosystem stability, and even more niche topics like soil health.”
According to DeGroote, she has loved watching the high school students learn this summer.
“While many have taken AP Environmental Science, I’ve watched as they learn new things about ecology and how to run a garden,” DeGroote said. “My biggest takeaway from this opportunity has been watching students gain insight on applicable techniques used in sustainable food production.
“Sustainability is increasing in popularity due to the effects of climate change, and I believe learning sustainable practices in young adulthood is essential and is particularly useful in all realms of human life, some including physical health, mental health, and even metaphysical health (not to mention the positive environmental impacts herb/pesticide free gardening can provide).
“SCCG is a great place to dip your toes into sustainable gardening, or to even produce your own plots of vegetation.”
One student benefitting from the program in her first year there is Ava Chamberlain.
“What got me into this program was my environmental science class,” Chamberlain said. “I’ve always been drawn to environmental science because leaving a lasting impact on the world around me has always brought me joy. In class, I loved learning about how so many ecosystems are connected and how we can all work as a community to better our planet.
“So far, the program has been amazing,” she added. “I’ve found all the work we’ve done very educational and hands on. Working with bees, soil, composting, and harvesting has been so informative and i’ve left knowing so much more about nature. Not only is the work educational but the community at the garden are so lovely and welcoming.”
Expect a very fun and educational environment
For any Patrick Henry High students interested in the program down the road, Chamberlain advises them to go for it.
“I would advise students in the future to expect a very fun and educational environment where they are pushed to ask questions, get their hands dirty, meet loads of new people, and participate in events held at the garden like the produce exchange,” Chamberlain said.
“Also for students interested, they don’t need to have any prior environmental science experience. All they need is to be ready to learn and have fun.
“The work we do is valuable because in the work that we do we are able to give back to the community .The garden supplies food to the local food bank and to Sierra School located next to the garden. The produce we help harvest and work with is being used for a great cause which is why I believe that future students should expect to learn, have fun, meet new people, and give back to their community.”