Yes, its summer here and one of our favorite times of the year with our Flawless Community. It was so inspiring to step back into our amazing gardens from last summer and bring everything back to life. We are so incredibly grateful to our Garden of Miracles donors and especially to our corporate sponsor for this program, Alice Hair. Alice McCarney, corporate sponsor and Flawless board member has been completely devoted to this project and has supported it every step of the way since its inception last year. We love you Alice. Enjoy our gardening video and blog below from our wonderful summer intern, Amalya. Happy Gardening!!
Working with the kids in the garden has been the most rewarding experience of my internship and summer to date. From the excitement in the children’s eyes as they caught glimpses of Janine and I unloading donated soil and plants from our cars, to their eagerness to jump in and get their hands dirty with the project as they anxiously awaited their class’ turn to come out to the garden, there was a distinct buzz of excitement on campus. Many of the students were apprehensive and shy at first, but with some encouragement, they were easily drawn into the garden and quickly got so immersed in the project that they were nearly dragged back to the classroom.
The great thing about gardening, especially with this group, is that there are tasks to meet any and all levels that the student is at. One high point of my day was helping a very challenged boy with Autism with no use of language find his place in the garden by mixing soil and compost. He began wearing gloves, but quickly removed them to feel the moist soil with his bare hands and smell the rich earthy scents. He found a place of purpose in the garden that not only met his functioning levels but also met the needs of the garden. One teacher warned us of a few students in particular who were having rough mornings, but once they got into the garden and began work, there was no sign of any behavior problems. As I knelt at the edge of the garden bed planting with students one on one, they told me about their previous gardening at home and here at Pioneer, their favorite things to grow and their favorite things to eat. The project provoked a mature conversation for these kids as they took to confiding in me, a complete stranger, about their lives and experiences. One boy boasted growing a watermelon in his yard at home as he delicately filled the soil in around the blueberry bush he had just planted. Two boys fought over sharing a terracotta planter, but I explained and showed them how different their respective plants were in shape and scent and after understanding this, they consented to sharing, an engaged in some friendly competition between their crops.
The children lit up as they saw how capable and successful they could be with the tasks at hand. In the gardening world, their disabilities don’t hold them back and it’s amazing to watch their ambition with the project. The sensory aspects; the touch, smells and sounds of gardening, were calming and focusing. Watching these students enter the garden, slip on the gloves and pick up a trowel was like watching them leave behind their struggles and issues and escape into an alternate world. The garden project provided a venue for these children to stretch their patience, their listening and instruction skills, as well as provide an outlet for responsibility and pride.
-Amalya
Flawless Foundation Intern
