As if caring for the plants that I live amongst and have already developed a fondness for was not enough to commemorate this year's Earth Day, we made our way to Tane and Maureen's daughter Saffron's school to help out in their very ambitious plan for the afternoon. From my recollection, Earth Day was always a half-assed attempt to rake the leaves off of the playground or plant some wilted flowers that would soon be reduced to dried roots. This Earth Day, however, was a symphony of involved parents, organized teachers, and enthused kids. The school already has a working vegetable garden which I am told is the source of great pride, especially for the elementary school, who like to show off the progress of "their" plants to their parents. These youngsters have clearly developed an impressive knowledge of horticulture as evidenced by a comment from one first-grader to another, "Let's plant our tomatoes right next to each other so they can be friends!" But really, it was both heart-warming and encouraging to see kids from elementary to high school so enthusiastic about something so old-fashioned and mundane as gardening. I was with sixth graders most of the time helping put soil and then seeds into various raised beds while in the mean time getting a crash course in the intricacies of the social mores of the age.
The kindergartners piddling around
The sixth graders hard at work
Kylie, another member of our farm team, finishing up the work of the first graders
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