Ahh…the lazy days of summer. But it doesn’t take long for those lazy days to turn into b-o-r-i-n-g days for kids. Fortunately, there are options.
“Vacation Garden School” at the Brownwood Area Community Garden will give area children the opportunity to learn the ABCs of gardening and have a lot of fun while doing so.
Scheduled June 24th through 28th, the Community Garden’s first garden school is geared for children ages 8 through 12. Besides planting, harvesting and observing life (read “bugs”) in the garden, kids will learn about the concept of community and the role they play as members of that community.
Daniel Graham, coordinator of the Brownwood Area Community Garden and lead instructor of the Garden School, wants kids to see the big picture.
“It’s not just about planting a seed and watching it grow,” he said, “it’s about understanding that what an individual does can affect the world around them in so many ways. Yes, you can plant a seed and watch it grow, but we want kids to think about how that simple act can make a big difference in their community and in their lives.”
That concept is the mission of the Community Garden in a nutshell.
The Garden’s motto of “Plant Seed, Feed People” defines the organization’s purpose. In the three years since it was first built on an unused sports field in a low-income housing area, the Brownwood Area Community Garden has donated more than 5,000 pounds of fresh, naturally grown food to area food pantries, primarily the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen at the Brownwood Salvation Army.
“Kids at the garden school will help deliver fresh produce to the Salvation Army,” Graham said, “and then, we’ll have lunch there, at the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen, so they can see and taste the fruits of their labor.”
Vacation Garden School is meant to be educational, but also fun. Members of the Brownwood Art Association will lead the kids in creative expression in the garden, and Cary Perrin of Keep Brownwood Beautiful will teach students about recycling and the environment. There will even be a lesson on safety with wild and domestic animals from a representative of the Corinne T. Smith Animal Shelter.
Vacation Garden School will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday, June 24th, through Friday, June 28th. Tuition is $65 per student, and $50 for additional students from the same family. The cost includes a healthy, nutritious lunch each day, T-shirt, workbooks, and craft projects. Class size is limited and deadline for registration is June 15th.
For additional information and registration forms, call Daniel Graham at 325-641-9029. Registration forms are also available at Central Texas Opportunities offices at 1500 Dublin Street, or at the AgriLife Extension offices, 605 Fisk Avenue.
The Garden School is part of the Community Garden’s efforts to provide education on sustainable, natural gardening practices and is a collaboration of the Garden, Keep Brownwood Beautiful, Brownwood Art Association, Corinne T. Smith Animal Shelter, and Central Texas Opportunities, Inc. Vacation Garden School is funded in part by a grant from Brownwood Woman’s Club.
