First Day Back in the Garden

Today was our first day back in the garden at Lakewood Elementary for this semester and what a lovely day it was. I had the privilege of getting to meet some awesome Pre-K students this morning and am looking forward to getting to garden with them throughout the rest of the year. Today we took a look around the garden and checked out the growing pineapple plants and papaya trees. Two of the papaya fruits were ripe and ready so we pulled them off the tree and the Pre-K students and their teachers got to take them back to class; a sweet treat for a Friday! We also showed the students the three raised garden beds we have where we will be planting many other things throughout the year. It was the first time out in the garden for all the students so this will be an exciting semester as we get to be a part of their first school garden experience.

Earth Day at Lakewood Elementary Peace Patch Garden 4-23-2-15

After a spring semester full of teacher related challenges, disruptions, and no shows, Mrs. Allen's class at Lakewood Elementary surprised Peace Patch volunteers Alyssa and Laura  by actually coming out! It was so great to see the kids. They hugged us and were so energized!! They had not been in the garden in a long time. They were like a litter of excited puppies cavorting around. 

One boy asked if he could nibble on the carrot top and I said yes. And, because of how mature the carrots looked and summer recess looming, I invited this student to go ahead and try to pull a carrot. He did and within seconds, the entire class descended upon the carrot patch and soon every child was triumphantly hoisting a perfectly formed carrot. It all happened so fast it was almost supernatural! The energy crackling through the garden that day was otherworldly. 

In the blink of an eye class was over and the teacher started to line the children up to leave. Suddenly, I saw a photo opportunity! I cried for Alyssa to get her phone out and take a picture. All the children lined up jubilantly holding their carrots high. What follows is what I call "The Money Shot." All 13 carrots!!       

Laura Clarke, Edible Peace Patch Volunteer 

POST SCRIPT:  Gratuitous Earth Day Garden Photos

Gardens as Gateway to our Souls

As I reflect on the arch like nature of the photograph I took while in the Lakewood Garden I think about how gardens can serve as a window to our souls. Gardens can serve as a soothing relaxing place to escape the rigors or daily life. A place to just be, exist, and feel safe and comforted - not trampled on. Our soul or psyche is no different. Often the deepest longing of the soul is to be accepted and loved just as is, weeds and all. As we learn how to nurture and tend the garden let us not forget to tend and nurture ourselves, our psyche. For just as gardens need tending, loving, and constant care, so does our soul. Let the garden serve as the gateway or lens into the essential feeding of our souls.

February 26, 2015      Laura Clarke

Garden Workday

On Saturday November 15th, volunteers gathered at Lakewood Elementary school to tackle some large projects in the garden.  A special thank you to the Junior League of St. Petersburg for lending a helping hand this service day!

It was a lovely morning to work in the garden and we were all kept busy with a variety of different tasks.  Weeds were pulled, dying plants were removed to make room for new seeds and seedlings, and fresh soil from the compost pile was sifted onto the beds.  While weeding, we found a large cricket peeking out from under the mustard greens.

The smallest snake found in Florida also made an appearance!  It's believe that these little snakes were brought to the United States from Southeast Asia in potted plants.  They are similar in size and shape to an earthworm, with the main distinguishing feature being their lack segmentation.

Brahminy Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus)

In addition to cleaning up the beds, another large task accomplished was the painting of signs to mark the location of the wide variety of plants found in the garden.  Okra, bok choy, rapini, onion, margiolds, beets, brussel sprouts, chives, kale, corn, basil...

 

As the service day wound down, it was evident how much effort had been put in by all the volunteers.  Even in such a short amount of time the garden looked completely rejuvenated - it will be exciting to watch the newly planted seeds grow over the next couple weeks!

- Colleen

Volunteering in the garden has been quite the learning experience. I have never been around first graders before, so actually teaching them has been challenging! My partners and I have strategized many times on how to keep the kids attention but today, we learned, freeing up the reigns makes for the best learning. The kids play scientist as they ‘walk’ around the garden observing. They love seeing how much the green beans, papayas, and their seedlings were growing. And they always have time to hunt for the friendly bugs of the garden. When things got a little crazy, the journals are a handy tool to get them to regroup and draw pictures of what they observed and write the questions they have. At the end of the lesson, I had my group draw pictures of themselves as superheroes working in the garden and share with the group. Seeing one boy, who at the beginning did not want to participate, stand up proudly to show himself flying over the garden in his special watering suit to help the plants grow was such a cool moment. Volunteering with these kids has not been clean or organized. Instead, it has turned out to be so much fun and the best morning in the kid’s and my week. Check out the kids' favorite garden things below!

Andrea and her scientists

Garden is so beautiful and full of life

The seedlings the kids planted are growing!!!!

The forbidden papaya tree.

The kids loved trying the green beans

Favorite activity- catching these bugs under the rocks

Lakewood Elementary Service Day!

http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp1843936.jsp

Join us in spending the morning in our Lakewood Elementary schoolyard garden. The Junior League of St. Pete will be lending a big helping hand for this Service Day!

Saturday November 15th 2014 9AM-1PM

We take this time to catch up on garden maintenance and to finish larger projects so that our gardens are ready for the students who come out weekly to learn and explore.

Morning refreshments are provided.

Bring along your family, friends, and your gardening tools!

p.s. Bring along your compost-ables to donate to our compost bins(veggie and fruit scraps, oak leaves, coffee grounds, tea bags, BUT NO MEAT or DAIRY, please)!

Visit peacepatch.org for more info about our project.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Keep an eye out for the addition of November and December service days!

Meditations on Weeding

It was a beautiful day out in the Lakewood garden, but sadly our class was unable to attend. So, the five of us took advantage of the peace and decided to focus our energies on weeding the beds. Honestly, it is a shame I did not think to take before and after photos, because the transformation was impressive. I also get a little ping in my heart when I acknowledge the fact that by next week at least half our tenacious efforts will have disappeared under those even more tenacious weeds.

I have always found the action of weeding to be quite meditative, and I'm finding more and more how symbolically significant the action can be as well. We spend our time pulling out those seemingly endless seas of sedge and torpedo grass only to find the next week that they have returned in full force. A garden is ever in transition, constantly growing both the desirable and undesirable (although at times it feels like those tiny tomatoes will never be able to overcome those weeds). However, as gardeners, it is our duty to get out there every day and care for the plants and the space we have designated for them, no matter how daunting those weeds may appear. It is difficult to then not make the mental jump and see this ongoing process as a metaphor for our day-in, day-out battles we each face throughout life. We just have to keep chugging along, pulling away at those stubborn weeds, and hope we remember to look up and appreciate the flowers.

Get out there and start your weeding!
Cleo