A bittersweet day in The Edible

Patch 

The garden was buzzing with life today as we prepared for our final activity with the kids; a scavenger hunt! Two monarch butterflies darted about the garden as I chased them down trying to capture a picture. The bees were plentiful, waiting for us to test the kids to see if they could point out a pollinator. I stood for a moment in the center of the garden soaking up the sun and admiring how far we have come. The corn is taller then me, the beets are bursting out of the ground. The pole beans have climbed high weaving around the wood stakes we had set up for them. I grab a bean to snack on, delighting in the knowledge that it was grown organically by us college students and that it was as fresh of a vegetables one could ever get. In the world we live in today we forget where food comes from; the earth. Gardening bring us back and reminds us how importance this process is for our very survival. It also gives us a better appreciation of way nature works. The opportunity to learn these skills and be able to share it with the students is amazing! I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into when I signed up to work with this project but I have learned an incredible amount from both my peers and the students!

                                    

The kids were filled with a lot of energy today, bouncing up and down eager to explore the garden. We split up into our groups and sent the kids off on their scavenger hunts. Some of the things the list included were; finding the different plant parts, acting out the butterfly cycle, taking a picture of something that plants need to grow. Their excitement made it a little tough to keep my group together but all I had to do was ask them to find some bugs to get their attention. They all knew were to look and crowded around the overturned tree stumps. Their once shrieks of fear have been replaced by shrieks of excitement as they captured roly pollies and other assortment of bugs. I had to drag them away from the bugs  so we would have enough time to finish the rest of the scavenger hunt. The students were bursting with information pointing out to me the different plants by name. After an exciting scavenger hunt we ended the days lesson sprawled in the shade of a tree creating leaf rubbings for the students to bring home.  

We attempted a group picture and then said a bittersweet goodbye to our students. It has been a very rewarding experience to see the students progress over the weeks and to see how our work with them has  payed off. I can't wait to be back next semester! 

-Alina Dallmeier