We Have A Garden
Community gardens…..what an odd yet incredible concept. A place to go and grab some fresh produce, planted by someone you don’t know. A place where you can get lost weeding and mulching a raised bed built by someone you have never met. An area created with nothing but love and sweat to verify YOU have some fresh fruit to eat on a daily basis.
To me a garden is where my mind feels at ease and my soul feels safe. The nurture you pour into something that then feeds you is unlike any relationship I have ever had. It is calm, slow, sometimes NOT rewarding but other times THRILLING. That time I grew ONE strawberry was unforgettable and delish. I am incredibly privileged to be able to go get supplies and take the time in my own home to grow food. I am also incredibly privileged to know that if I can’t grow it, I can go and buy it with no issues. Food insecurity is not something I have experienced in my adult life. And now that I have kids, I can say they have not experienced it either. Will that ever change? I hope not. But we all know, especially after last year, things out of our control can change at the drop of a hat.
When I first had the idea of The Neighborhood Sprouts building a community garden, it seemed too big. How would I get kids to be excited about gardening? How would I channel their green thumbs and have them out there in the Atlanta heat, pulling weeds? How would I get them excited about something so slow and time consuming? The idea that we can create an area to enhance our green thumbs, do right by our environment and FEED OUR neighbors is an honor but will the kids realize that?! I then remembered my mission as the leader of The Neighborhood Sprouts. To educate kids about the magic of giving back and the importance of community service. Our tagline is BLOOM WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED. Taking our time to create something for our neighbors is the very reason The Neighborhood Sprouts exist. I want my own children to grow up knowing they are lucky to be who they are and that they are here to serve and welcome others. All of these ideas and missions are the very reason I went for this garden idea…..AND GOT IT.
I am thrilled that my kids club, built on community, love, inclusiveness, kindness and FUN will have a place we can nurture and develop and SPROUT for our neighbors. What an incredible opportunity for these kids to see the change in a garden they built? Knowing that they are making a difference for those with food insecurity, which is a hard topic to understand for a child BUT to learn about it and then have the opportunity to help SOLVE it…...that is my mission. Our kids need to have the opportunities to hear about these topics and tools to change them. They need to be empowered with knowledge that THEY can make things better.
I will be doing lots of updates here on this journey. I am excited to document this and show the world how powerful kids are. A community garden is the perfect place for this group. Full of all types of different things, coming together to make our neighborhood happier. After all the Sprouts are all types of different kids, coming together to make our world better.
If you want to get involved, let me know and I will send you a list of ideas!
Keep Sprouting,
Jan-O