Overview: Helix Gardening Club
With the gardening program in full bloom, Naranjo noted the club has had some exciting events and community partnerships grow over time
With all the school activities students at Helix Charter High School have available to them, you may not think gardening is at the top of the list.
Nevertheless, the Helix Gardening Club is growing by the month.
“The program at Helix started just last year when a freshman, Jessika Easley, wanted to start a lunchtime club,” said Helix Gardening Club advisor Deborah Naranjo. “She found a staff advisor, Mrs. Kate Diaz, and together they got the club up and running.”
The pair soon realized that meeting only at lunchtime didn’t provide enough time for all the garden activities they wanted to do, so they transitioned it into an after-school program through Helix’s ASPIRE program.
The Achieving Success in Positive Interactions, Relationships, and Environments program is a federally funded grant that is awarded via the San Diego County Office of Education.
Naranjo, who likes having a green thumb of her own, said it made sense for her to get involved with the group of students.
Having a garden on campus makes it that much more fun, she added.
“I got involved and began supervising the club at the start of this school year after attending Helix’s ASPIRE kickoff event, which highlights all the before and after-school opportunities available to students,” Naranjo said.
“The gardening students were running a booth, and as an avid gardener myself, I was so impressed by their passion and drive to create a school garden and by all they had accomplished in such a short amount of time.”
With the gardening program in full bloom, Naranjo noted that the club has had events and community partnerships grow over time.
“Recently, Dayle Cheever from the UC Master Gardener Association of San Diego came to visit us,” Naranjo said. “She shared insights about the work her organization does and gave us creative ideas for making the most of our garden space…. Community support like this keeps our students motivated and engaged in learning.”
Naranjo added that the support she and the students receive is shown throughout the campus. For example. City Farmers Nursery donated a giant mound of potting soil and a variety of seeds, and Helix staff members recently donated a variety of succulents from their own gardens.
“One of the campus security guards mentioned that there were several pallets in the school dumpster,” Naranjo said. “I had just been talking with her about how we needed trellises for the garden, so we went to check them out.
“Later that day, I took the gardening students over to grab some of the pallets, and I turned it into a lesson about how we can upcycle items that might otherwise be thrown away. “
Getting their hands dirty while caring for the environment
For some of the students involved, the club is a chance to get their hands a little dirty while learning about the importance of taking care of the environment.
Students involved in the Helix Garden Club have many reasons to show off their hard work. (Photo by Cherished Memories Photography)
When she was a freshman last year, Jessika Easley, now a sophomore, got the ball rolling on having such a club on campus.
“I noticed that Helix didn’t have any clubs or ASPIREs on gardening, so I decided to ask a few friends and create my own,” Easley said. “It is something I love doing… It teaches me more about how to take care of plants and how people can share love for them.”
Fellow sophomore Victoria Villegas, who helped start the club, said her family has always had a green thumb for as long as she can remember.
“I grew up in a home where plants grew up with me,” Villegas said. “The garden club started as meetings at lunch that talked about gardening ideas, then slowly grew into ASPIRE after school, where we were able to put our ideas into action.”
Being part of the club has allowed Villegas the opportunity to better understand the growth of plants.
“It helped grow me as a person,” Villegas said. “It helped me fathom how much time and patience it takes to grow such complex life forms and how their needs need to be met, depending on the plant.
“It also helped show me how much humans affect the population of pollinators and how they rely on us just as much as we rely on them.”
Classmates turn one another into gardening enthusiasts
Another sophomore, Arwen Daub, said they were interested in joining when a member invited them to see what it involved.
“I was excited because I loved working with plants and had no idea that there was a gardening club here at Helix,” Daub said. “I got involved with the Gardening Club in the middle of my freshman year.
“As a member of the Gardening Club, I have learned so much about taking care of the environment.”
Sophomore Itzy Tornel said they wanted to learn more about the club because a friend was one of the people who started it.
“I thought it would be cool to join,” Tornel said. “With the skills we gain in the club, we could apply them to local areas or with family and friends and help them with their plants, and teach people the safe environmental ways on how to take care of plants…. It’s such a nice, great community for everyone.”
With young and old alike at Helix planting new roots for gardening enthusiasts and those looking to learn, the club is branching out by the day.
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