Its hard to believe that 11 months have flown by since I started working on the garden project with OCDC. Today is my last day at the OCDC office and my Americorps term is officially over this Friday. The last activity I was able to do with the children at the centers was to harvest the garlic that we planted back in September; this was the first thing we planted in most of the gardens so it was a good wrap up for me. The children and I had fun digging the garlic up, cleaning it, and bringing it to the cooks for use in the centers' lunches. Some kids even took bites out of the whole garlic without even peeling it, they didn't even care that it was spicy, they were just so excited to harvest something from the garden. I will sure miss the little ones. This whole garden project has been such as positive thing for me and I have learned so much through my work in the gardens and with the classes. Based on all the feedback I have received it has been an equally positive experience for the children, teachers and staff at OCDC; I have been so pleased with the amount of support and gratitude I have received here.
The children have, without a doubt, been the most rewarding part of the program. Seeing them light up when they are engaged in the garden and get so excited to eat anything they have grown themselves makes me really believe in the value of the school garden movement. I believe the garden project will have a lasting impact on the children who have been apart of it. I hope these memories stick with them in some way and help them development a preference for healthy natural foods and a respect for their food sources.
Furthermore, the impact of the school garden movement extends beyond those who it immediately benefits, and address many of our society's most challenging and pressing problems. The local food movement is social justice, food security, nutrition, fitness, environmental and economic sustainability, and it is fun!
I am excited to see how the garden project here grows and expands in the future. There is so much potential and enthusiam here that I believe the gardens at OCDC will only continue to improve. Thank you everyone for such a positive experience.
Happy gardening!!!
~Kaitlin
