I think I first heard of the Thomas Jefferson (TJ) Community
Garden when I saw an invite for a free outdoor showing of the movie “It’s the
Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” happening there.
I mean, I had HEARD of the garden, which is only a couple of blocks from
my house, but I guess it had never really caught my attention until the possibility
of sitting in it while eating popcorn and watching a Charlie Brown classic film
came my way.
 |
| Always a good one to watch in the autumn |
Now that I know some more about the garden, I realize it is
good for MUCH MORE than showing movies. J It is quite amazing, really!!
 |
| TJ Middle School Community Garden |
Our neighbor Keturah (Kitty) is a Girl Scout. We have known her ever since she was teeny
tiny and didn’t know how to give us proper change for the lemonade we bought at
her stands. But now she is a senior in
high school and her Girl Scout Troop, number 557, were the FOUNDING FARMERS of
the Thomas Jefferson Middle School Community Garden. It was their Silver Award Project, and what a
fine project it was/is!
The Girl Scouts were in 6th grade when their idea
of a community garden was born. They
were inspired by Michelle Obama’s White House Garden and Alice Waters’ Edible
Schoolyard (see the end of this piece for more information about those inspirations). They chose it as their Silver Award Project
for many reasons; to try and improve school lunches, to connect to the
environment, because it was a great community activity, and, as Troop member Hayley
put it, “Planting new plants will help the air become cleaner and better for the
earth.”
 |
| The White House Garden, one of Troop 557's inspirations for their garden |
The project not only helped the Girl Scouts learn about
nature and gardening, it also required them to polish their presentation skills
since they needed to present to the PTA, the neighborhood community
association, and the City Council.
They got the approvals they needed, painted some lovely
signs, and got donated wood to make the fence and raised beds. Then they were OFF – prepping a barren plot
of land behind the local middle school.
Of course, starting a big garden from scratch is not EASY, and Girl
Scout Emely explained some of the challenges they faced, “…bad soil, access to
water, and discouragement”.
 |
| Working on their lettuce crop |
But by Spring of 2011 they were ready to put in
seedlings! Arlington, VA has an amazing
program called the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) (a community based
non-profit that provides supplemental groceries to people in need), and AFAC
has a Plot Against Hunger program. Ms.
Puwen Lee, the Plot Against Hunger coordinator, brought the Scouts seedlings to
get the garden started.
 |
| Their garden produces a LOT of healthy, organic veggies!! |
And get started they did!!
They planted their first crop in 2011 and other members of the community
pitched in, too. Students from TJ helped
in the garden. Portions of their harvests
were donated to AFAC and in that very first season they donated over 400 lbs of
fresh vegetables!!! Isn’t that
amazing?? Talk about making a difference
in their community! They have donated thousands
of pounds of healthy produce since then. Other members of the community help out in the
garden, too. It provides instruction, inspiration,
and needed volunteer hours for groups around Arlington.
 |
| Have to get rid of the weeds! |
 |
| It doesn't have to be ALL hard work, volunteers can have some FUN, too! |
The troop and some TJ students were even lucky enough to get
a tour of the White House garden, which had inspired them. They say it is beautiful, but their garden is
actually much BIGGER J.
I say Troop 557 and their leaders definitely qualify as
Kindness Activists. They put their
heart, hands, and sweat into the garden and have donated so much healthy food
to neighbors in need through AFAC. THANK
YOU for your work, Girl Scouts! Your
community appreciates it.
 |
| A tiny bit of the garden's bumper crop - isn't it beautiful? |
 |
| AFAC food donation receipt - one of many! |
 |
| Another donation to AFAC! The garden keeps on giving! |
Now how about YOU? Is
there a lesson you can learn from these young girls? Maybe you do not have a big yard to dig up
and plant seeds… Maybe you live in an
apartment and do not have any land of your own.
But is there SOMETHING you can give back to your community? Let these girls’ big actions be an
inspiration to you.
 |
| Gardening is hard work, but very rewarding |
Troop 557 consists of:
Keturah Adair
Kathryn Carlson
Bryn Edwards
Deniz Gurler
Ali Michalowski
Hayley Roy
Emely Sanchez
Rebecca Wroblewski
With co-leaders Patty Adair and Marney Michalowski
To learn about the beginnings of the White House garden,
which inspired Troop 557, see here
To learn about Alice Waters’
Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, CA (another inspiration for the girls), see here
To learn more about AFAC, see here
Do you know of a Kindness Activist? Tell me about them -
send me an email at kindnessactivist@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment