WEST FARGO — The seeds of generosity will be sprouting in West Fargo this year.
High school students in Kindred’s FFA chapter built gardens for residents in the New Perspective Senior Living Center on Monday, May 11.
It’s a simple pleasure that had the New Perspective Senior Living Center buzzing today. Signs of new life in six-foot-long bins packed full of tomatoes, carrots and more.
About a dozen students in Kindred’s FFA chapter grabbed a shovel or a soil-filled wheelbarrow Monday.
Kindred FFA students and residents at New Perspective Senior Living Center plant vegetables and flowers together in West Fargo on Monday, May 11, 2026, as part of a community garden project.
Ryan McNamara / WDAY
“Pumpkins, the beans, peppers, and then I think all the smaller ones are going to be our flowers. We have zinnias and marigolds and all those different things,” said Clare Weber, a Kindred student.
Music to the ears of residents who hadn’t picked up a shovel in years.
“Being able to put their hands into the soil or take the old blooms off or smell the flowers …” said Ann Amann, a resident at New Perspective Senior Living Center.
“It was just a part of our life when we were young adults with families and different things. So this is special. This is a little bit like going home,” said resident Renee Larson.
Larson grew up on a farm north of Forman, N.D., so Monday was truly a taste of country living again.
From setting up a planting bin or burying the seeds that will one day be ready for harvest, she and others were just as eager to help set up the new garden.
“I helped a student put together one of the raised beds, you know, and I was holding the screws so he can put the washers on. But he is so happy to be here,” Larson said.
“We just get to share that joy with each other, and the passion for planting things and getting to see them grow over time,” said Whitney Stoddard, a Kindred student.
Generations coming together, sowing for the summer.
“Yep. Love that part. My hands in the dirt,” Larson said.
Ryan McNamara joined WDAY as a reporter in late 2024. He is a native of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota and graduated from St. Cloud State University in 2024.
His time as a Husky included copious amounts of time spent at “The Herb” reporting on Husky hockey, or at Halenbeck Hall calling Husky basketball. He also spent two summers with the Northwoods League’s St. Cloud Rox. Along with his duties in news and sports, Ryan dons a headset for occasional play-by-play broadcasts for North Dakota and Minnesota high school sports.
When he’s away from the station, he’s most likely lifting, finding time to golf, or taking in as much college basketball as possible, in order to complete the elusive perfect March Madness bracket.
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