The sun is shining the weather is sweet here

As I walked through the garden today I was pleasantly surprised to see how well everything was doing. Every bed shows promise of filling with fresh green produce and other foliage. Our greatest discovery was the presence of an extremely long eggplant, which was ripe for harvest. We picked it and gave it to professor Curtis for his own enjoyment.

Unfortunately we did not have students visit us in the garden today. Lakewood students were being treated to a performance by a local high school drum line. However, we did check on the students and they expressed disappointment at missing out on their time in the garden. We can’t wait to see them again.

I worked on the Edible Schoolyard my freshman year at Eckerd. This was the first semester on the project. It was an awesome experience that I continue to value. Here is a video that Kelly Schiller made about that first semester.

The Edible Peace Patch Garden from Kelly Schiller on Vimeo.

These kids really have a lot that they need to learn for the FCATS. However, I am still not sure if we teach them more than they teach us. This is an incredible project that gives so much to so many people. Sometimes things don’t go the way you want them to, but you have to adapt to the situation and work with what you have. When the garden was vandalized we salvaged what we had and put new plants into the ground immediately. We adapted and carried on. Classes of first and second graders are very unpredictable. As teachers we often encounter bizarre interactions and comments from students. Every time we adapt and carry on the lesson trying to teach as much as we can. That is what this is all about; exposing the kids to healthy decisions, bringing them together with the environment, providing valuable science lessons, and small taste of college. Like the Rolling Stones said “you cant always get what you want, but you try real hard you might just find you get what you need.” That is true and we must adapt, persevere, and carry on towards the goal that we know is right.