When Pam Ekren asked her fifth graders at Irving’s J.R. Good Elementary who had been to McDonalds, only half the class raised their hands. She was shocked. But rather than taking them all out for Big Macs, she took it upon herself to teach them an alternative to mealtime … and do something good for the community at the same time.
“I wanted the learning to be meaningful,” she says. To her, that involved getting their hands a little dirty—literally—by nurturing a garden and donating the harvest to needy families. So back in September, the Good Community Gardeners (third through fifth graders) started meeting Monday through Thursday after school to plant broccoli, cauliflower, beets, radishes, onions, parsley, rosemary, lettuce and other vegetables, and harvested the crops on Wednesdays.
Ultimately, it went full circle. After donating a harvest of turnip greens to Oak Haven United Methodist Church, according to Ekren, a member of the church asked the students if they’d ever had turnip greens. Following the unanimous “no,” she offered to cook them a batch.
“It was truly a great learning experience,” says Ekren. “The kids got to plant [the turnip greens], nurture it, harvest it, and taste it.”
In addition to the opportunity to give food to those who need it, Ekren emphasizes how beneficial the garden has been for the school. “Two years ago, I wouldn’t have taken my classes out there. … I’ve seen three different teachers out there teaching. The enthusiasm is unbelievable.” She calls the garden “a huge outdoor classroom,” pointing out that she can teach her kids science lessons about competition among organisms, because there are 16 different vegetables growing in 16 square feet.
Ultimately, says Ekren, the students feel good about being on the giving end of philanthropy, because they’re used to receiving. “It builds their esteem,” she adds.
And that enthusiasm for giving really shows. Ekren jokes that her students will sometimes run up to her, worried, saying that they’re going to be five minutes late to Garden Club because they have safety patrol.
If it’s like they say—that it takes a little love to make a garden grow—well this one’s only just beginning.
