Washington Youth Garden

New Blog

2011-06-21T09:40:00.007-04:00

Thanks so much for your interest in the Washington Youth Garden. Keep up to date with our latest adventures at our new blog: washingtonyouthgardenblog.org. There you'll continue to find photos, events, program updates and more!

Long live the queen!

2011-03-25T09:21:00.009-04:00

Look closely at the photo above and you can see our queen: she's the one with the spot of light green on her back in the midst of a swirl of activity. Last Tuesday afternoon was an exciting time to be in the garden. After some high winds compromised the hive's integrity this winter, there were some lingering fears that the queen may not have survived the upset.

Slowly examining the hive, WYG beekeeper Toni Burnham gradually revealed clues of "queen rightness." Everyone was optimistic, but there was nothing quite like seeing her majesty in the flesh, lowering her large rear end into empty cells while her handmaidens hustled busily about her. We even witnessed the early moments of a brand new member of the hive, slowly breaking out of her cell, emerging into the world on gorgeous spring day.

Above: Toni cleans up the hive, scrapping off the food she had put in the hive to help them make it through the end of water.

Above: Kacie steps in to lend a hand with the spring cleaning.

Below: Winter's a tough time to be a bee. Fortunately, Chris constructed a brace to help protect the hive against future weather-related catastrophes.

WYG Featured In "A Community of Gardeners" Documentary

2011-03-16T13:21:00.009-04:00

The new documentary “A Community of Gardeners,” from local filmmaker Cintia Cabib, will premiere next week at the Environmental Film Festival. The film explores the vital role of seven community gardens in Washington, D.C. and shows how these green spaces are changing people's lives, their communities and their environment. Among the gardens featured in the film is the Washington Youth Garden!

The documentary will premiere Thursday March 24th, 7pm, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Following the March 24th premiere, Washington Youth Garden Program Director Kaifa Anderson-Hall will be participating in a discussion with the filmmaker Cintia Cabib as she discusses the 40 year history of the Washington Youth Garden in the DC community. The film will be screened again at the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) on March 25th, at 4pm. Do plan to join us as we celebrate the community spirit of gardening.

For ticket information and for reservations click here.

To view the trailer and learn more about the film visit http://www.communityofgardeners.com/

Enjoying the fruits (and stems, leaves, seeds, roots, and flowers) of their labors

2011-03-15T15:15:00.009-04:00

“Wait! I need my recipe!”

The third graders from Center City Trinidad have cleaned up their desks and are being ushered off to their next class, but Makayla makes sure that our root-stem-leaf-flower-and-seed stir-fry recipe will go home with her. Our last Garden Science classroom day culminated with the ultimate gift that plants give us: their nutritious tastiness. Each cluster was given a baggie filled with vegetables and were asked to name the veggie, identify what part of the plant it represents, and its function in the plant's life.

I could not have been a prouder volunteer when even those who had participated the least in our eight weeks stood in front of the class and proudly, loudly presented their vegetable. The palpable enthusiasm in the classroom on our last day is what I had hoped for. I was thrilled with having helped them make the connection between plants and their lives, but wistful to see how they'd carry that lesson on. I'll be back next year!

Contributed by Olivia Ellis, one of the many dedicated volunteers that makes Garden Science possible.

Growing gardeners

2011-03-14T15:59:00.005-04:00

Between long weekends, critters and technical difficulties, life for plants has been difficult at several of our Garden Science classes. The plants in our E.W. Stokes Spanish class, however, are looking great!

The third and fourth graders in all our classes are also continuing to take care of their resident decomposers.

Our classes at Burroughs are a week behind due to snow. Last week they made applesauce and traced their favorite meals back to the soil.

Stay tuned to learn more about our plant parts stir-fry extravaganza. After stepping out of the class to go wash her hands, one student reported back: "We filled the halls with jealousy because we're eating healthy and it also tastes good!"

Yoga for Gardeners

2011-03-14T09:10:00.004-04:00

Head to Takoma Park on Saturday to show your support for the WYG at this garden-themed yoga workshop:

Yoga for Gardeners
Saturday, March 19, 2-4:30 p.m.
Willow Street Yoga Center, Takoma Park, $35

Learn optimal alignment for digging in the dirt, while nurturing yourself and enjoying the community of your fellow yogi gardeners. For beginner and more experienced yogis and gardeners alike, find ways to optimize your experience in the garden and on the mat with therapeutic applications of the Anusara principles of alignment. Elizabeth will donate a portion of the profits to benefit the Washington Youth Garden and will host a seed swap at the end of the workshop! Everybody welcome. To register or get information about Willow Street, please visit: www.willowstreetyoga.com.

Did dirt make your lunch?

2011-03-04T13:27:00.008-05:00

In this week’s Garden Science classes we turned our gaze from the insects that make plant life possible, to one of the most important (and delicious) reasons we garden—to grow food!

Together we began to explore the all-important question of where our food comes from. We started off by breaking down a common and favorite meal, a cheeseburger, into its five basic ingredients: bun, tomato, lettuce, meat and cheese. Then we traced each of these ingredients back to its earliest beginnings. The pattern? All of these ingredients could be tracked back to the soil.

By contrast we considered the case of the Stawberry Pop-Tarts—purportedly “Baked with Real Fruit!” How many ingredients in a Pop Tart? Our third and fourth graders tried to guess:
“Six?”
“More.”
“Twelve?”
“More.”
“Twenty-seven?”
“More!”
“Thirty-nine?”
“Nope….Forty-seven ingredients!”

The clincher: “Do you think all of these 47 ingredients came from the soil?”
“No!”
“Do you think Riboflavin or Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate came from the soil?"
“No!”

Our digestible message about nutrition: If you can’t trace back your food to the soil, it’s probably not that healthy. Pretty pictures of strawberries on the front of a shiny box do not mean there will be healthy strawberries inside. (Dried strawberries can be found in the “two percent or less” category, right after salt.)

To bring our lesson to life, we equipped each young chef with a plastic knife, cutting board and apple slice so they could help the class make a pot of fresh applesauce. Unlike the grocery store apple sauce that might have upwards of thirty-two ingredients, homemade applesauce can be made with only five or six.

While the applesauce simmered into sweet, cinnamony goodness (with the help of some volunteer elbow grease), each student drew a picture of their favorite foods and practiced tracing each ingredient back to the soil. In some classes our students had remarkably sophisticated taste—drawing pictures of lentil burgers and sushi. In other classes students were still putting together the idea that chicken (the food) came from chicken (the animal) and that eggs come from inside the bodies of the aforementioned creature.

Regardless of their prior food exposure, young applesauce enthusiasts in all of our schools requested the recipe (before we had a chance to pass it out) and told us they planned to make this tasty treat at home.

Perhaps our most transcendent comment of the week came on Tuesday afternoon at Mary Becloud Bethune Elementary. From across the room a rambunctious third grader declared, “This tastes so good I feel like God is speaking to me!”

I think we can all agree that no lecture or lesson plan will ever compare to the transformation that happens during moments of sheer pleasure that only real foods know how deliver.

Class: Insecta!

2011-02-25T12:28:00.002-05:00

"Raise your hand if you’ve ever stepped on a bug and heard it go CRUNCH.”
All twenty five hands rocket towards the ceiling.

“That’s their exoskeleton. All arthropods have their skeletons on the outside of their bodies. ‘Exo’ means outside.”

This week our Garden Science classes built on what they already knew about bees to learn about the common characteristics of insects. Unlike other arthropods (including insect "cousins" crustaceans, arachnids and centipedes and millipedes), insects all have antennae, wings, six legs, and three main body segments. Our classes were amazed to find out that ants can have wings and insects breathe through slits in their abdomens. The highlight of the classes were definitely our insect cases—extensive collections of butterflies, moths, dragonflies, bees, wasps, hornets, beetles, earwigs, flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers and crickets. In some classes, students went back to their desks to fetch notebooks so they could write down their observations. One fourth grader complained that she hadn’t had enough time to complete her research!

After looking at the insect cases, the classes learned basic insect anatomy and the vital roles insects play in living systems. They will have a chance to continue their investigations during their class field trip in May: we’ll build on this lesson in the garden, observing insects live and in action.

Rooting DC 2011

2011-02-23T08:49:00.008-05:00

Last Saturday, WYG staff and volunteers joined local urban garden enthusiasts at Coolidge HS for DC Field to Fork’s 4^th annual urban gardening forum, Rooting DC. We started off the day with some guerrilla gardening, getting DC youth prepared with seed balls packed with wild flower seeds to beautify the city. Seed balls are fun and easy to make by combining nutrient-rich compost with clay and seeds. When the balls dry and the weather warms up, these nuggets of mini-garden potential will be ready to go!

Kacie, Chris and Kaifa all contributed to panels on youth gardening. Kacie and Chris kicked it off, collaborating with City Blossoms staff to give some useful “tips of the trade.” Chris went over the top 10 plants for gardening with youth and Kacie discussed the value of meeting children where they’re at and asking questions to support their natural curiosity. Kaifa presented on the successes and challenges of the WYG school garden installations as part of a panel examining school garden case studies in DC. Along with other panelists, Kaifa discussed the essential steps to establishing and maintaining effective school and community partnerships.

Finally, the info fair was a great opportunity to tell folks about the Washington Youth Garden, connect with potential volunteers, and get the word out about upcoming WYG programs including SPROUTS and Growing Food…Growing Together. Both programs are still accepting applications, so if you know of any school groups or families who may be interested, please pass the word.

Worms, flowers and bees, oh my!

2011-02-23T08:33:00.007-05:00

Over the past two weeks in our Garden Science classes we’ve been learning about the birds and the bees (and the worms) that make plant life possible.

We kicked off our fourth week with an in-depth introduction to the newest members of the classroom—the worms! Before passing out a worm to each student, we had to review what sort of living conditions the worms were used to in their homes underground. Because the soil is moist, we decided to have a damp paper towel on our desks to keep our worms happy. Also, because worms are used to how QUIET it is underground, we agreed that we should only whisper to our neighbors (and not screech with excitement) about our observations. EW Stokes’ fourth grade class, at least, were very serious about not upsetting their worms and consistently shushed their classmates during our worm observation period.

After 10 minutes to touch and observe the worms, the classes came together to share their observations and learn worm anatomy. We reviewed the important role worms play in the garden—breaking down scraps of food (organic matter) into nutrients that the plants can use to grow.

Every week a group of students will be responsible for feeding the worms. The worm bins will stay in the classrooms through the spring, providing compost for the school gardens. When the classes come out to visit the Washington Youth Garden in May, the worms will finally return home from their extended field trip.

Last week, we shifted our focus from decomposers to pollinators. Before jumping into the details of flower parts, we reviewed the plant life-cycle and how plants go about making new plants. We learned that in order for the new seed (hidden in the flower) to be ready to make a new plant, it has to be pollinated. This is where trusted pollinator friends (bees, butterflies, bats, flies, etc.) come into play. Only once the pollen goes down to meet the new seed, will the plant get the signal to make a fruit. Most students had no idea that fruits are just a clever way for plants to spread their seeds. Kacie broke it to the students that every time we eat a watermelon and spit out the seeds we are participating in a very tasty trick! To learn more about the process of pollination, students dissected lily flowers and learned all about bees from Toni, the WYG beekeeper. Before closing the lesson, we all said a big “Thank you!” to the bees who pollinate one out of every three bites of food we eat.

Thank you worms! Thank you bees!

Seeding projects

2011-02-08T15:59:00.007-05:00

Last week we finally got to plant some seeds. We went into each classroom and set up the shelves that hold all of the grow racks, worm bins, planting trays, and, soon enough, all of the little seedlings.
Each class planted broccoli, lettuce mix, sunflowers, and basil. All of the students had a great time getting their hands in the soil and learning all about what plants we'll be growing.
We also brought out some samples so that everyone could try what we'd be growing. All of the students loved the sunflowers seeds and most came around to liking the lettuce and broccoli. Despite the basil pesto being something new for most students, after one friend tried it and admitted to liking it, so did everyone else. Once they heard that basil is used in spaghetti and on pizza, they were a little more into the idea of eating it.

First we gotta talk about what plants need to grow. A place to grow, some liquid (water) and love, air (carbon dioxide), nutrients, the right temperature, and sunlight.
Here some students at Mary McLeod Bethune are getting their hands in the dirt and planting those seeds.
At Center City, the students are psyched about getting their peat pots onto the shelf and under the grow rack.
Amirah and Myia planting basil.
The lettuce team with Ms. Olivia.
Students on the left side of the table clearly enthralled by amazing facts about broccoli from Mr. Zack.
Ms. Kacie demonstrating the amount of arable land on earth using an apple. Students are always amazed by how small a portion of the planet is suitable for growing plants.
Giving you a peak into composting and worm week with students peaking into a worm bin. Each class gets one of these and a tupperwear container to store food for the worms.

week two: life of a plant

2011-01-27T11:15:00.006-05:00

Though the snow tried to stop us, we carried on with (some of) our Garden Science classes. This week, we learned about seeds and the life cycle of a plant.
Here, we take apart bean seeds to identify the parts of a seed:

And here, showing our plant life cycle drawings (with a giggle):

And it begins

2011-01-20T11:18:00.002-05:00

This week marked the first of our eight weeks of Garden Science, our annual winter program with local elementary schools. We conduct a ninety minute lesson in six classes every week on garden and environmental science.

This week, we started off with "What's the Big Deal About Plants?", which gets us thinking about plants that we depend on in our everyday lives. Below is a picture of letters that we write to our plant best friend telling them why they're appreciated and what we can do to be a good friend to them.

WYG in Washington Post

2011-01-13T10:00:00.001-05:00

Washington Post reporter Adrian Higgins spoke with WYG staff about the realities of starting gardens at schools in DC. Higgins also featured the garden at Center City Public Charter School, one of our Garden Science partners. We installed the garden at Center City last spring and will be returning to teach Garden Science at the school this year.

Garden Science

2010-11-17T08:39:00.003-05:00

As the fall winds down, we start gearing for Garden Science, our winter program. Garden Science brings us into local DC elementary schools, where we teach an eight week curriculum of garden-based environmental and nutrition education. After being in the classroom, we help to install edible schoolyard gardens and host all students out in the youth garden come spring.

We are looking for dedicated volunteers and an intern to assist with this program. Please contact kwarner@washingtonyouthgarden.org for details.

Taste of Stokes

2010-11-03T13:17:00.007-04:00

On the Saturday before Halloween, our Garden Science partner school Elsie Whitlow Stokes held a fall celebration of food. The theme was "Food is..." with fantastic interactive stations that filled in that phrase - like "Food is Math", "Food is Art", "Food is Exercise", "Food is Adventure". There was tons of excellent and healthy food to taste and lots of fun activities based around healthy eating and exercising for all the kiddos in costumes.

For our part, the Washington Youth Garden planted garlic and grilled up some garlic bread.
Chris and Kaifa prep the raised bed for planting. Garlic is planted in mid-late fall and harvested late spring - summer.

WYG volunteer Lisa and Calvin chopping garlic.

Lots of garlic!

Chris planting garlic with a ghost, an astronaut, and spiderman.

Past Growing Food, Growing Together participant, Pat, along with WYG volunteer Alka

WYG staff with Corn Lady

D.C. Farm to School Week and D.C. School Garden Week

2010-10-14T10:01:00.005-04:00

This week, Oct 12 through the 16, marks a celebration of locally grown, seasonal food in school meals. We're also highlighting exciting efforts across Washington DC to create and maintain vibrant school gardens.

There was a fun kick off event held at Thurgood Marshall Academy and Savoy Elementary on Tuesday. The event kicked off with a speech from Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and healthy food supporter Kathleen Merrigan. Then Sam Kass from the White House revved up the audience for a battling chef competition, in which four local chefs were tasked with creating an exciting dish in thirty minutes that contained local apples.

Local apple tasting

DC Schoolyard Greening crew with Sam Kass

The students voted and the winning dish will be served in DC public school lunches.

Chef Lauren Von Der Pool

We then saw the brand new garden at the school, a joint project with Earth Day Network. Some sage and asparagus were planted, garden signs were painted, and a compost bin erected. Check out pictures of the awesome garden below. It sits right across the street from the Anacostia metro station, so lots of passersby saw and were curious about what was going on.

fall garden

2010-10-06T13:28:00.008-04:00

we planted greens (kale, collards, lettuce) and roots (carrots, beets, radishes, parsnips, turnips) and covered the crops with remay to protect them from pests. the remay will also help to keep the crops warmer when the temperature really starts to drop.

the great green harvest

never enough peppers

and feasting on those greens

tuesday crew

family portrait: three moms and a chris.

end of season goodbyes

2010-10-06T08:55:00.010-04:00

thank you thank you thank you to our 2010 interns: Annabeth Roeschley, Katherine Collins, and Andrew Plotsky. oh, how we miss you already. as our staff numbers are now cut in half, we realize how valuable the contributions of these three have been to making this organization (and the garden) blossom.

Katherine usually has on a much more pleasant face.

A new apron was purchased for this special occasion.

and allstar volunteer katie, always up for some jamming

Ms. AB

just like a honeybee, katherine is communicating through dance

AB with suprise guest, 2009 intern Sumner

the Saturday team

upcoming Edible Forest Workshop

2010-10-04T14:22:00.001-04:00

More info about this and other DC School Garden Week events here.

Growing Food...Growing Together video from WAMU reporter

2010-10-04T11:19:00.001-04:00

thanks to our summer volunteers!

2010-10-01T10:15:00.008-04:00

the temperature is dropping and garden time is slowing down. we want to say a big thank you to all the volunteers who made the garden as productive, beautiful, and fun as it was this summer.

some last summer memories

2010-10-01T10:03:00.010-04:00

Join us for PollinatorLIVE

2010-09-07T09:01:00.002-04:00

On September 29, 2010, join us for PollinatorLIVE: Honey Bees, Native Bees, Gardening, and More, which will be webcast live from 11 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. ET from the Washington Youth Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. We'll take a tour of the garden, learn about native and honey bees, go on a hunt for lesser known pollinators, and join a chef in Pollinator Kitchen and Café.

39th Annual Family Cook-off

2010-09-07T08:42:00.001-04:00

video by Andrew Plotsky

Some Pretty Things from our Garden

2010-08-24T07:34:00.003-04:00

WYG Goes On Tour

2010-08-22T21:45:00.005-04:00

Last friday, in honor of our beloved education intern, Katherine "K-thron" Collins' last day on the job, the entire Youth Garden crew went on a garden tour of DC. On the list we had City Blossoms' Marion Street Garden, Beet Street's (soon to be found online here) garden atPathways to Housing (at which a Cuban-themed celebration organized by program participant Georgina was ongoing), Commongood City Farm, The Neighborhood Farm Initiative, and theEngaged Community Offshoots farm in Prince George's County, MD. Unfortunately we did not make it out to ECO, on account of a combination of transportational apprehension and an unforseen flooded basement. Nonetheless, great times were had - we sampled melons at more than one stop, made mobiles out of wire and junk, wore cowboy hats and varying hues of green, smiled profusely, and we even learned some things. Photographic evidence ensues.

WYG celebrity: Jonathon Gliss

2010-08-20T10:49:00.004-04:00

Check out our youth intern Jonathon Gliss (author of those great vegetable of the month posts that you've seen here) cooking up some WYG veggies on Channel 9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl7H0NFrRHw

Precisely Why We're Here

2010-08-16T16:58:00.000-04:00

My last blog as a Washington Youth Garden Youth Intern

2010-08-12T13:05:00.006-04:00

Interning at the Washington Youth Garden has been an honor and pleasure. These last two summers have been an adventure full of fun and excitement. When I first came to the garden I didn’t like it that much, I wasn’t use to a lot of outside work. I hated weeding and working in the sun, but I realized the reward you get after everything is done and you see the transformation that you were a part of in creating in the garden. To turn an area full of weeds into a Nature Explore activity area for the children and knowing you had help creating it, is a wonderful feeling.
The Washington Youth Garden has taught me a lot of things and has helped me to grow. I have interacted and taught younger children about eating right and cooking wonderful dishes. Many of the children loved when I put on my chef jacket and start to cooked, they loved the dishes I created for them. I was able to visit the White House’s garden with WYG’s Seed To Supper participants and talked to the Presidents head pastry chef. I got to meet the Secretary of Agriculture at the Arboretum and I was able to have a conversation with him and he gave me a coin with his seal on it. I also got to meet Reed Doughty and Malcolm Kelly of the Washington Redskins. I would have never had the opportunity to be interviewed by J.C. Hayward if it wasn’t for the Washington Youth Garden and there support. (Check out WYG’s website to see interview.)
I will miss my Washington Youth Garden Family as I embark on my new journey into college at Baltimore International College. I will never forget this place and I will be back to visit every chance I get.

Bok Choy - A New Addition to Our Vegetable Plate!

2010-08-12T12:59:00.005-04:00

Written by Jonathon Gliss, WYG youth worker, gardener, and chef extradoinaire. Last installment of Jonathon's Vegetable of the Month blog installments.

Bok Choy (Chinese cabbage) has been cultivated and grown in many parts of Canada and the US. Bok Choy is also grown in Europe where it was introduced in the 1700's. It is available year round, except in July and August, and it is best when purchased in the fall and winter. Currently, you can buy Bok Choy in many ethnic grocery stores and in many larger supermarket chains. Because Bok Choy is a member of the cabbage family, it is becoming, and can be used in many recipes either raw, as in salads, or cooked for use in soups and in stir-fries, like cabbage. Baby Bok Choy is best when cooked whole and used as a side dish to a meat entrée. However, when cooking mature Bok Choy, do not cook it whole. Instead, first remove its leaves from their stalks and cut the stalks into pieces. Next, take the leaves that were removed and cut them into pieces as well. Bok Choy stalks and leaves are edible. You can also eat the raw stalks of both the baby and mature plants. The following is a Bok Choy stir fry recipe that will certainly add excitement to your vegetable plate.

Bok Choy Stir Fry Recipe
1 1/2 pounds Bok Choy or baby Bok Choy1 1/2 tablespoons canola, vegetable or peanut oil1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger3 tablespoons broth or water (or 2 tablespoons broth/water + 1 tablespoon wine)salt to taste1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1. Start by trimming the stem off – don’t trim too much – just the end. Cutting the thick stem off will ensure that the Bok Choy cooks evenly. Separate out the leaves, keep the tender center intact and clean under running water. Drain.
2. Finely mince garlic and grate fresh ginger with a grater.
3. Place wok or frying pan on your stove and pour in the cooking oil. Add the garlic and ginger. Turn the heat to medium-high. Let the ginger and garlic gently sizzle in the oil. When the aromatics become fragrant and light golden brown, add the Bok Choy leaves. Toss very well to coat each leaf with the garlicky, gingery oil for 15 seconds. Pour in broth, water or wine. Immediately cover and let cook for 1 minute. Season with salt and drizzle a bit of sesame oil on top.

SWEET AND SOUR BOK CHOY

3 tbsp. salad oil1 head Bok Choy, washed, trimmed, & cut into 1" pieces1/4 c. packed brown sugar1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger root1 tbsp. cornstarch1 sliced sweet onion1 tbsp. soy sauce1/4 c. red wine vinegar
Heat oil in large skillet, add Bok Choy and onion. Cook and stir over high heat 1 minute. Blend sugar, vinegar and ginger; add to skillet. Mix well. Cover and steam for 1 minute. Combine soy sauce and cornstarch with 1/2 cup water. Add to skillet. Cook and stir until thickened. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

BOK CHOY CABBAGE SALAD

5 cups of Bok Choy cabbage, chopped into 1" - 1 1/2" pieces1 bunch green onions, chopped, green & all

DRESSING:
1/2 c. oil1/4 c. cider vinegar1/2 tsp. salt2 tbsp. soy sauce1/2 c. sugar
Mix dressing ingredients well before adding to cabbage. Mix cabbage and dressing and refrigerate before serving.

CHICKEN STIR FRY
1 (13 3/4 oz.) can clear chicken broth2 tbsp. soy sauce2 tbsp. cornstarch1 tsp. garlic powder1/2 - 1 tsp. tarragon4 tbsp. peanut oil2 lbs. chicken breasts, skinned, boned & cut up8 oz. snow pea pods3-4 stalks of Bok Choy, sliced2 carrots, sliced thinly1/2 med. onion, chopped
Combine chicken, broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic powder and tarragon. Stir until free of lumps and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in wok or heavy pan. Add chicken and cook quickly over high heat. Remove chicken and set aside. Add 2 more tablespoons oil to pan, add vegetables and cook until tender. Add cornstarch mixture and cook until sauce is thickened. Add chicken. Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings.

Friend & Family Day-o-Fun

2010-08-11T09:07:00.009-04:00

From faces painted with carrots in tutus to outdoor marimbas to glass-paned honeybee hives, our 2nd annual summer festival was definitely fun and more than educational. Folks braved the heat, met new neighbors, tasted & toured the garden. Here are a few of our favorite memories.

A big shout out goes to all the folks who helped make this event possible!

Here's to our wonderful volunteers: Toni Burnham, Emily Roberts, Sarah Murphy, Ej Truax, Jennifer Jefferson, Vernice Woodland, Lois Jackson, Laura Genello, Lianna Fensky, Emily McCartan, Katie Aldworth, and our musicians Katherine, Micah and crew.

Thanks to the local organizations for their generous food donations: Glut Food Co-op , Honest Tea, Mom's Organic Market, Tryst, Whole Foods, Yes! Organic Market

And last but not least, we're grateful to our partners who came out to show their support: Safiya Samaan and Viki Arthur of the USDA Forest Service, Mary Farah and Sandy Farber of UDC, Mark Haskel, Lola Bloom and Mia Ballard of City Blossoms, Bea Trickett of the Neighborhood Farm Initiative, Gilda Allen of DDOE, and Terry McFarlen.

Youths in the Garden.

2010-08-04T20:57:00.003-04:00

Tomato Bliss.

2010-08-04T20:39:00.005-04:00

When our Green Summer Team teens arrived several weeks ago, there were varying degrees of indifference to the garden, vegetables and particularly eating new foods. Last friday, we had a marathon cooking session, over the course of four hours, we prepared a tomato sauce worthy of the queen of Italy, a tomato salad, fried eggplant (a first for two of our youths), and garlic bread all using ingredients exclusively from the garden. The eggplant was crispy (think dried autumn leaves), the sauce saucy and the smiles wide.

Growing Food... Growing Together

2010-07-22T08:43:00.005-04:00

It's hard to believe that we are already into our tenth week of the program. Only five left to go : (

We have planted some crops for our fall garden, but most recently have just been harvesting like crazy. Each family takes home a large bag of veggies every week, oftentimes with unfamiliar vegetables to experiment with, like kohlrabi. Beans, greens, beets, carrots, okra, and peppers have been staples for a few weeks now. Hopefully this weekend we'll also be filling our bags with tomatoes and eggplants.

We've also had many great guest presenters visit us. Kim Rush Lynch has been out twice to talk to us about nutrition and prepare a healthy dish from the garden. Allstar volunteer Jennifer Jefferson gave a presentation on home container gardening. Local master composter Kaitlin Rienzo-Stack gave a presentation on composting. John Murphy, a chef from Miriam's Kitchen, cooked us a delicious vegetable stir fry. And the Capital Area Food Bank's Operation Frontline program gave a presentation on nutrition and prepared some outstanding okra. We'll be going to the farmer's market, getting information on growing and using herbs, and also getting a how-to on canning and preserving before the summer is over. And of course, we'll keep on eating lots of vegetables!

Green Summer in full swing

2010-07-21T09:40:00.007-04:00

This year is our first season participating in the Mayor's Green Summer Job Corp program, which is administered by the District Department of the Environment. We serve as a host site to employ twelve local fourteen and fifteen year olds to work in our garden.

In addition to the much needed help weeding, mulching, and harvesting, it's been great fun having a consistent group of youth out in the garden everyday. We've had lessons on compost, plant science, nutrition, and insects. We've also gotten to harvest, cook, and best of all, eat together!

To get out in the community, we've been going to our Garden Science school sites to maintain those gardens we installed in the spring once a week. We've also taken trips to the USDA People's Garden and the Franciscan Monastery for a presentation on beehives. Check back for blog posts and recipes from our youth workers and more photos.

Growing Food Growing Together. Photographic Evidence...Backwards

2010-07-20T17:40:00.007-04:00

Thanks to the Capital Area Food Bank's Operation Frontline program's chefs and nutritionists who came out this week!

Join us on July 24 for family fun day

2010-07-01T11:03:00.001-04:00

Live music, healthy food, garden tours, and gardening activities for kids. Ring in our new Nature Explore Classroom and meet our new honey beehives.

The Point

2010-06-18T07:31:00.000-04:00

Unbridled excitement. It’s the reason they sprint in a garden where running is not allowed. It’s the reason that, as I lead a group of third graders on a garden scavenger hunt, sharing juicy educational tidbits about lettuce and asparagus, their fingers are tapping, eyes darting and hearts pounding. The delight in which they revel at this moment in the Washington Youth Garden is the fruit of the seeds which were sown in classrooms this winter/spring throughout our Garden Science program.

Since we last spoke, the in-class segment of the program finished up with a grand finale of cooking a vegetable stirfy in the classroom (which was covered by NPR reporter Rebecca Sheir). Several weeks later, the Youth Garden staff was joined by a crew of UDC Master Gardener alums to construct raised bed gardens at our schools, into which our students planted their very own vegetable gardens. Finally, each class had the opportunity to come out to the Youth Garden for their very own day of fun in the sun, learning hands-on what we had been discussing all spring.

To recap, Garden Science is eight weeks of classroom lessons, on-site garden installations, and a final class trip to the Youth Garden at the Arboretum. Accordingly, and expectedly, after being constrained by classroom walls for 8 weeks, the students have energy and enthusiasm to let out.

The visit begins with a septi-stop scavenger hunt, visiting all of the garden hot spots - sorrel, compost, butterfly garden. It’s great. Along the way we stop and taste things and talk about concepts from the classroom component, sneaking in questions at every turn.

Next, there is the weeding portion, where we split the classes up into groups and get them jazzed up about gettin’ weeds. Each group goes to a separate part of the garden to remove weeds, during which the students quickly discover two things: first, there are many worms in the earth, second; worms are the coolest thing since beanie babies. We pick some weeds, run around with fistfuls of worm. There is some shrieking and a whole lot of smiles. Everybody wins.

Finally, we adjourn to the conference room – a collection of purple picnic tables under a monster oak tree – to cook a meal with vegetables from the garden. Often, the cooking demo will be led by a local chef, and among the repertoire from this past session were: sautéed spinach and garlic, mint tea, and asparagus. Lots of asparagus.

More often than not, the kids will eat the vegetables. More often than not, the kids will like the vegetables. More often than not, the kids will ask for more vegetables. More often than not, the kids will be smiling.

The cooking portion generally concludes the trip to the garden, and, sadly, finishes our Garden Science program. The nice thing, though, is that throughout the program, and particularly the trip to the garden, the students are energized. Enthusiastic. To see them get excited about vegetables after weeks of questionably lukewarm involvement is, in turn, exciting. Rewarding.

While the childrens’ enthusiasm is uplifting, I think it should not go unsaid that there were ample frustrations. There are the kids who are not paying attention during the lessons not because they are interested, but rather, the opposite. In these moments, when you are speaking to blank stares and backs of heads, the owners of which are clearly thinking about those animal-shaped bracelets that are all the rage these days, I found it easy to slip into a state of irritated questioning.

Why aren’t they engaged? Why am I not more interesting? Why isn’t every single one of them flabbergasted at the wonder and mystery of the compost bin? Is this worth it? Is it effective? Making an impact? Changing anything? Helping anyone?

Luckily, the story doesn’t end here. My spirits were lifted, qualms soothed and faith in humanity restored as a result of a conversation with one of our regular volunteers, Andy Clark. In expressing my concerns that I was a failure as an educator (in my extensive several weeks assuming such a role), he said to me, “…well, I think it is an integral aspect of education. Not every kid that comes through the garden is going to dream of becoming a farmer, just like not every kid is inspired to become a mathematicians from doing their times tables. But there will be a few... and if you can inspire just a few students, then I think you’ve done your job. Y’know……it’s all about passing the torch.”

It’s all about passing the torch. Profound words. True words, and, I think, a suitable way to describe the goals of the Garden Science program. After all, the program is aimed towards increasing or instigating exposure of our students to new ideas and ideals pertaining to food, nutrition and environmental stewardship. In other words, the goal of Garden Science, the goal of the Youth Garden, the goal of education is to inspire.

If inspiration is the name of the game, all we have to do to produce a subsequent generation of enlightened geniuses is to inspire. Simple…right?

Well then what does it take to inspire a group of third graders to be foodie locavorist fanatics, you ask? I’ll let you know when I figure that one out. But, I think it can be said that an unequivocal instigator is passion. One who is passionate is one who is likely to inspire. Take a look at two of the most prominent faces of the local/sustainable food movement: Joel Salatin and Will Allen. Both have strong voices, a magnificently lush trail of action in the wake of their work, and clearly love what they do. Why? Because they get excited. And I’d have to say this was my biggest lesson learned over the course of the Garden Science program – when you get excited they get excited.

It’s not just a one-way road, mind you, but rather a feedback loop. Not only does an educators’ excitement inspire the student, but a students’ excitement, in turn, inspires the educator. I have come to realize that this is why I am here, why the entire WYG staff is here – to inspire and be inspired. Our student’s are very likely not acutely aware of our effect on them, nor of theirs on us, but the seeds are there. Planted beneath the soft impressionable topsoil of their youthful existence.

This summer, hundreds, if not thousands of young people will come through the Washington Youth Garden for a variety of programming. We will work with them, play with them, teach them, and be taught by them. They will come and they will leave. We may not know immediately, perhaps not even for years to come, but a few out of those thousands, after a day of fun in the sun, will get on that school bus holding a torch.

Save the Date for Family Fun Day

2010-06-11T09:18:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, July 24, the Washington Youth Garden is holding a summer gardening celebration. Enjoy some healthy snacks from the garden, meet our new honeybees, listen to live music, tour the garden, and see our new Nature Explore Classroom.

Join us anytime from 1pm to 4pm. Friends of all ages are welcome.

For details and directions, visit our website.

A visit from the Secretary of Agriculture

2010-06-10T09:01:00.007-04:00

The U.S. National Arboretum was excited to host Secretary of the Department of Agriculture Tom Vilsack this spring. Students from the Washington Youth Garden's Garden Science classes at Center City Public Charter School Trinidad, along with students from nearby Brent Elementary, joined the Secretary in planting some trees and pepper plants.

The students and Secretary Vilsack also participated in activities celebrating healthy eating. We taste tested various herbs and different varieties of fresh salad greens. Promoting healthy eating habits, especially for children, is one of the Secretary's top priorities.

Secretary Vilsack commented, "Arbor Day is important not only because of the rich tradition of improving our communities by planting trees, but also because it highlights the connection between two of this Administration's top priorities - helping improve the environment and helping children grow healthier and stronger. The kids at the Arboretum today had the chance to see how getting outside and being a part of nature is fun, exciting, and good for their health, right here in the heart of Washington D.C."

Here's a picture of Secretary Vilsack with our year-round youth intern and aspiring culinary student, Jonathan Gliss.

Two Washington Redskin players also joined in on the celebration. To promote physical activity, they lead the students in running and passing drills. Wide Receiver Malcolm Kelly also showed off his gardening skills when we were planting peppers. He grew up working in the dirt on a farm in Texas and told the students how much of an impact that had on his life. We wish we had a Redskins player and former farmer on hand all the time to talk to our students about the importance of growing your own food and eating veggies!

Garden update: growth, growth, growth!

2010-06-10T08:42:00.007-04:00

Hardy kiwis

Chris Turse, garden manager, tilling around the apple trees.

Happy brassicas

Climbing beans

Papaya in our new tropical section

The bees are loving our blooming perennial border

Guest chefs: Poste Brasserie, Ed Bruske, and Tesia Love

2010-06-09T14:30:00.006-04:00

Jeremy, a chef at Poste Modern Brasserie, cooks up some fresh vegetables from the garden with our Garden Science students. Volunteers from the restaurant join us every Tuesday at the youth garden. They are a huge help with our ever-increasing load of garden maintenance. And in turn, they get to learn about local food and the growing process.

Local healthy school food crusader Ed Bruske joined us for a cooking demonstration as well. Ed instructed the students in making wilted spinach, which they loved! Ed wrote about his visit and posted pictures on the Better DC School Food blog.

Local food blogger and healthy food advocate Tesia Love also came out to cook some garden vegetables for our Garden Science students. Tesia came out twice and made a couple of delicious dishes - pasta with veggies, a spinach dish, and mint tea. More pictures and Tesia' write up of the day are at her blog, Flavor Diva.

Strawberries and Salad Greens

2010-06-09T14:12:00.004-04:00

The fantastic DC Farm to School Network put together a local food celebration called "Strawberries and Salad Greens". Schools across the District of Columbia were served fresh, locally-grown strawberries and salad greens in their school lunches. Educational materials like food miles posters and maps of where the strawberries and salad greens came from were displayed in the cafeteria.

The WYG participated by hosting a class from Center City Public Charter School, Capitol Hill campus. We harvested strawberries and greens from the youth garden with the students. Some students washed and cut the strawberries while others washed and spun dry the salad greens. Then we made our own salad dressing with some olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper. We added some parmesan cheese and some onions from the garden - and, ta-da, a delicious strawberry salad!

Garden Science Visits the Garden. ! .

2010-06-01T23:02:00.006-04:00

We mean business.

support the WYG at DC9's Nerd Nite

2010-05-26T08:51:00.001-04:00

Saturday June 12, 2010 from 6pm to 9:30pm at DC9. Let us help you set your inner nerd free, with an evening full of fun factoids, music, and beer.

Where: DC9, 1940 9th St NW
When: 6PM (doors), 6:30PM (event)

Cost: $10 Upstairs, $discounted Downstairs

for advance tix: http://www.ticketalternative.com/Events/11289.aspx
In honor of spring and all things green, this month we are donating part of the proceeds to Washington Youth Garden, http://www.washingtonyouthgarden.org which has a number of programs that help educate and inspire D.C. youth in the benefits of growing and eating nutritious fruits and vegetables

check out the presentations here:
http://dc.nerdnite.com/

Support funding for the Healthy Schools Act!

2010-05-21T09:54:00.002-04:00

A recap of the Healthy Schools Act here in the District of Columbia:

In December 2009, DC City Council representatives Mary Cheh and Vincent Gray co-introduced the Healthy Schools Act of 2009. The Bill contains many important Farm to School initiatives, as well as other initiatives designed to improve the health and well-being of District schoolchildren and to “green” District schools. The Healthy Schools Act Hearing took place on March 26, 2010. On May 4, 2010, The D.C. Council voted unanimously to pass the bill, with the goal of the legislation being in effect when school resumes in August 2010.

For more information about the Healthy Schools Act, see the DC Farm to School Network.

Recently, Earth Day Network and the Campaign for Healthy Kids have
launched a new campaign to support D.C. Councilmember Mary M. Cheh’s
proposal to combat childhood obesity via:

•The Healthy Schools Act, which will improve the nutrition, health,
and wellness of children;

• Healthy Food Access Initiative, which will provide incentives to
bring grocery stores to underserved areas in low-income communities
and create jobs;

• Healthy Corner Store Program, which will help small food stores
serve healthier foods;

• Faith-Based and Community-Based Anti-Obesity Programs; and

• Improve the Office of Aging’s Nutritional Programs, which serve the elderly.

The proposal would fund these programs with a nominal tax on
sugar-sweetened beverages. The tax would not only fund these programs
— but help encourage the consumption of healthier beverages. Please
join us in this effort to combat child obesity in D.C. More than half
of DC residents are classified as obese and obesity costs DC city
government at least $400 million annually. The Big Soda Lobby is
pouring millions into DC to defeat this innovative and necessary
proposal. Earth Day Network and its partners will be collecting
thousands of signatures over the next 10 days in addition to
organizational sign ons from community groups and local businesses.

Sign on to the petition!

check us out!

2010-05-19T11:19:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Susan Harris for her awesome coverage of the WYG on her blog Garden Rant.

Local chef and school food crusader Ed Bruske did a cooking demo at the WYG for one of our Garden Science classes. See Ed's post about it on the Better D.C. School Food blog.

Tesia Love, another wonderful local chef, did a cooking demo with two of our Garden Science classes. See her pictures and write-up at her blog Flavor Diva.

Center City planting day

2010-04-28T14:57:00.007-04:00

Thanks to Glenda Kapsalis for these pictures!

Garden Science part 2: school gardens

2010-04-27T14:52:00.013-04:00

After finishing up the eight week classroom component to our Garden Science program, we turned our attention to designing and installing a garden at each participating school. We had the help of the awesome DC Master Gardeners, who put a lot of effort into both the planning and installation parts of the garden project.

The first garden to go in was at Center City Public Charter School's Trinidad campus, who's been a Garden Science partner with us for over five years. About time they got their own garden, huh? We built nine raised beds that lay on top of the concrete in the back parking lot of the building. The following week, we went back to plant up the raised beds. The third and fourth graders from our program transplanted the seedlings that they had started in their classroom back in snowy February. We also transplanted some new seedlings and direct seeded some greens and root vegetables.

Before

After

DC Master Gardeners

Next up was Imagine Hope Public Charter School. This school has absolutely no green space, with just a tiny blacktop area for recess. However, we found some room in a sunny corner of the parking lot to install a raised bed, along with some containers. Again, the students got to transplant the seedlings that they had started in their classroom, as well as direct seed some greens.
EWS fourth grader and Program Director Kaifa Anderson-Hall
Our last Garden Science school was Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, whom we have been working with for two years now. Last year, Stokes installed a fantastic garden consisting of about a dozen raised beds. They've also added some edible landscaping, fruit trees, and an herb garden, again with not much space. Unlike the other two schools, their garden is not directly on the blacktop parking lot, though it is just a few feet away. All of these schools are great examples that school gardens can still be an option even if there is a lack of available green space.
Sampling some herbs

Direct seeding carrots

Though our Garden Science program is targeted towards third and fourth grades, we hope that by installing school gardens, the entire school community will get to learn from and enjoy an edible garden. Happy planting time!

For Families!

2010-04-01T09:49:00.005-04:00

For the last eight years, the Washington Youth Garden has hosted a gaggle of families every Saturday morning from early spring until the end of the summer. The program, called Growing Food…Growing Together, brings twenty five to thirty families together to grow and prepare their own organic food. Each week, families work together to tend our communal vegetable area, herb garden, and fruit section. We see community build over the weeks as we all bend down to weed the row of peas or transplant tomato seedlings together.

In addition to gardening, guest presenters – from nutritionists and chefs to beekeepers and agricultural historians – fill in the dots that connect our health, environment, and communities. Throughout the course of the summer, families also participate in a local farmer’s market to sell some of the summer bounty.

At the end of the morning, we gather up the harvested produce and divide it up among the program participants CSA-style. A major focus of this program is on providing access to fresh healthy food, as well as learning how to grow and prepare it.

This program is intended for first-time gardening families who are seeking to gain healthy living skills. Prospective participants should fill out a family questionnaire. If you can help spread the word about this program, download a flyer.

Want to volunteer at the Washington Youth Garden?

2010-03-30T08:51:00.003-04:00

Spring volunteer orientation is scheduled for Saturday, April 10 from 9am to 12pm. It is required that volunteers go through an orientation before coming out to volunteer in the garden.

We'll explain our programs, how the garden operates, and what our volunteer protocol is. You’ll also be doing some work in the garden, so come prepared with proper work clothes, a water bottle, snack, etc.

Please RSVP to kwarner@washingtonyouthgarden.org if you plan on coming.

We are also looking for a committed person to serve as volunteer coordinator on Saturday mornings. This person would lead the volunteers in a garden project, as well as provide some support to our family program, Growing Food…Growing Together. This is not a paid position, but the volunteer coordinator will receive a box of organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs every week. This person would need to be at the April 10th volunteer orientation and would need to commit to four hours every Saturday morning from May 8th until the middle of August. Email kwarner@washingtonyouthgarden.org for more information.

Looking forward to seeing you out in the garden.

Garden Science is Over???

2010-03-23T14:40:00.003-04:00

Lamentably, our eight weeks of classes have come to an end. It was a wonderful ride, and our students have unequivocally acquired mounds of dirty knowledge, and I use that phrase in the best sense.

The program is not actually over – in mid-April we will be installing and/or improving vegetable gardens at our participating schools, and in May all of the students will be coming out to the garden to re-ignite the fire that we have lit in their bellies.

We will not be going back for classroom lessons, and oh, it is sad to think that we won’t be sharing time and stories with the little ones every Tuesday through Thursday anymore. We at The Garden want to give a wide-eyed, uvula-exposing shout out to our volunteers that came out to help in the classroom and our teachers and students from the schools.

Although we breathlessly await the culmination of our GS activities, we at the Youth Garden are gearing up for our delicious summer programs, SPROUT, one-time nutrition and envisci ‘classes’ for youths in the garden; Growing Food Growing Together, a fifteen week family-oriented program that intends to reconnect families with their food and the land from which it comes; and Seed to Supper, an eight week interdisciplinary garden-based program for youths.

Chris, our resident farming expert and garden manager, has been assiduously preparing the garden for the growing season, sitting with the her, rubbing her tummy and singing gentle, waking lullabies to bring her out of the long winter’s slumber.

If you or your children are interested in participating in any of the programs listed above, you can contact Kaifa Anderson-Hall at kanderson@washingtonyouthgarden.org. We also accept, and to a great degree rely on wonderful volunteers to make our programs run as smoothly as they do. If you are interested, you can sign up for our volunteer info list on the website. We also have volunteer days in the garden every Tuesday, beginning very shortly. For more info here, you can contact Kacie, our lovely education coordinator, at kwarner@washingtonyouthgarden.org.

Below, I’ve put together a short compilation of clips from the last few classes of Garden Science, which ended with a bang and sizzle by preparing vegetable stir-fry with the students. Mostly just sizzle, actually. If things go as planned, like the ALWAYS do, we should be producing a more substantial video in the near future about Garden Science. WOOOOOoo.

Love and Asparagus (oh so soon),

Andrew

OOOOOOOHHHHHH!

2010-03-22T18:03:00.004-04:00

There is the Flatflap, where the arm is extended vertically in the air with the elbow locked. The hand, flat as though ready to high-five, flaps in a north-to-south manner with varying degrees of vigor.

There is the Fingerwaggle, where, irrespective of the arm angle, every finger on the hand in question wildly, aggressively writhes to it’s own inaudible rhythm. The Fingerwaggle is often accompanied by a facial expression that would generally be regarded as intolerable agony.

These are two of the more popular techniques that our students use to attract our attention. There’s also the Doublesingle Sweep, the Diaper Change, the Silent Poutshout, the Straight-Legged Birch, the Bounceypants. The list is quite endless, really, and as there is no end to attention-grabbing methods of a 3^rd grader, there is a similarly endless pool of questions, comments and observations that swirl just beneath the surface of their adorable little eyes.

Seemingly from nowhere, our students conjure questions from... whatever’s inside third graders…presumably fruit punch and Funyuns (which is where we come in). After a story or activity, we ask if there are any questions. Instantly the air is full of outstretched hands. Occasionally, the questions are not questions, but rather peripherally related comments or stories. More often than not, we have to move on with the lesson before everyone gets a chance to share. Given the chance, students can generally procure a question at a moments notice, sometimes with no apparent thought process.

This ‘ability,’ shall we call it, can be disruptive to the flow of our lessons, sending the kids’ imaginations off in every direction except towards us. Quite honestly, though, of everything that I’ve experienced in the classroom so far, this ‘elementary expressive ability’ has been the greatest source of inspiration, awe and reflection for me, who supposedly possesses ‘collegiate expressive ability.’

It is fascinating, the way they ask questions, and the process leading up to it. There is generally no discernable filtration process. Just questions. Thoughts. Ideas. There is no self-consciousness. No worrying what the words will sound like floating through the air. No taking notes, writing out the question beforehand, to make sure the wording is acceptable to their intellectually sound peers. Sometimes they start asking questions before they even know what they are going to ask. They just go. Often, it seems to not matter what they are asking, so long as they are asking. A desperate and unacknowledged desire to acquire information. Childhood.

The content and nature of the questions and comments that come out can be markedly profound. Sometimes we have to tweak our corrupted ears to hear the magnitude in their questions, for very often, they are questions that are overlooked and unanswered because of their simplicity. “Ms. Kacie, what is bedrock made of? Mr. Lou, how does chocolate come from a plant? Sometimes their questions force our minds out of their comfort zones, nudging us just a few feet to the left of the perch from which we generally look at the world. “Ms. Anna Beth, do rocks have birthdays? Mr. Andrew, how does the world work?”

The children possess an insatiable curiosity about the way things work. Why things go. So much mystery and wonderment remains in their minds about the things that happen around them on a daily basis. There are significant gaps of knowledge that they are, consciously or unconsciously, desperate to fill. They are not embarrassed to not know things.

As a result, they ask the simple questions that adults are afraid to. They ones that are all but unanswerable to a lowly layperson like myself. The deceptively complex questions that few people can accurately answer. The ones that are easy to dismiss as unimportant and easy to make up answers to. These are questions that I am grateful to have been pushed to revisit by talking with third graders.

“Mr. Andrew…

What kind of bug is that?

Why do bees sting?

Why is it so ugly?

What happens when we find worms in the dirt?

Are bugs the same as insects?

Whysit that color?

Did you kill all these bugs?

What happens if you cut a worm in half?

How old are you? 45. No you’re not! Are you? How old are you?

What happens when the flower gets sick?

What if we overwater the plants?

Is soil the same as dirt?

How is chocolate made from a plant?

Why do butterflies look like moths?

Why can’t we see nematodes?

Why did you kill all those bugs?

Aren’t you scared?

How many bugs live in the dirt?

What is bedrock made of?

Do rocks have birthdays?

How long has the dirt in my backyard been there?

Why can’t we eat these?

Are we going to the arboretum today?

Why do they have pins in them?

Doesn’t that hurt?

How are bugs made?

Do you ever eat McDonalds?

Why not?

Being in the classroom, seeing the faces and processes that these questions have come from have been inspiring to me. Have led me to ask my own questions, revisit thoughts that have been simmering in my own pot, but maybe never looked at them in such terms as a third grader might ask them.

It may seem a little silly, because there are clearly drawbacks to thinking like a third grader. The point, though, is not that we should all start blindly rattling off questions and telling irrelevant stories to strangers on the street. The point isn’t even that I have personally been inspired. The point is that I think that there are underlying aspects of the behavior in question that adults across the board try to retain, or wish they could continue to exhibit.

I think everyone longs for that freedom of expression. Everyone cares because everyone wants, to some degree, to be able to be genuinely curious and open to that curiosity. In adults, I think, we call it innovation and creativity, and it can be difficult to maintain these when one is embedded in a grind, of sorts. A routine. It is easy to fall in and repeat the motions. Childlike curiosity and openness to expressing what is brewing inside are qualities easily lost in daily patterns. Personally, I have felt this at work.

Every one of us wants to re-tap that channel of expression that we once had access to, the one which now rages freely through our third graders’ minds. I’ve come to believe this is one reason that being around kids is so inspiring. Enlightening. Energizing. Smile-inducing.

For this reason, I have come to view our Garden Science program as an exchange, rather than a service. We educate our students and our students educate us. The balance may not be exactly equal, but the sentiment holds true. The idea of inverting the teacher-student dyad is prevalent among progressive education literature (if my resolve is strong enough I may be able to write some more on this/link to relevant information), and is of extreme importance in educational situations.

To see students as peers as opposed to, well, students, may be a more extreme recommendation in the realm of teacher/student relations, although perhaps not a bad idea to explore. Peer, implying a plane of equality uniting the parties in question, may be hard to imagine while said peer, 12 years one’s junior, wildly flails his arm in your face. But take that mentality, the fervor with which the students’ face contorts, and hold on to it. Put it in your pocket, and carry it with you, around the next corner, to where the questions wait.

Local NPR station covers Garden Science

2010-03-22T09:57:00.002-04:00

Rebecca Shier, a reporter from WAMU, joined our Garden Science class at Center City Public Charter School in Trinidad. Ms. Shier did an excellent job capturing the program. Have a listen!

Students want healthy food and school gardens!

2010-03-12T15:13:00.003-05:00

Students in our Garden Science program learned about the proposed DC Healthy Schools Act. We wrote letters to the City Council to express our support of this bill, a few of which you can read below. We will be submitting these letters of support to the DC City Council and will read a few of them during the public testimony period at the upcoming hearing on March 26.

Picturefest

2010-03-06T07:16:00.010-05:00

A Lesson in Soil Science...

2010-03-02T19:44:00.003-05:00

Is shocking.

more pictures soon.
andrew

Starting Seeds Indoors with Chris Turse: Slides from Rooting DC 2010

2010-03-01T13:14:00.003-05:00

Please feel free to download my slides from the Rooting DC Forum. I am also including some information below regarding organic soil amendments.

Slides can be downloaded here

For those of you wondering what mixes that the USNA and I use, check out this company!

and.....here are some other loose ends from the talk, including information on DC's leaf composting program and alternatives to chlorine bleach for sterilizing containers.

HAPPY SEED STARTING!!!

February's Vegetable of the Month

2010-02-23T14:19:00.002-05:00

brought to you by Jonathan Gliss, youth intern extraordinaire and aspiring culinary student

Cabbage

The cultivated cabbage is derived from a leafy plant called the wild mustard plant. Cabbage is used in a variety of dishes for its naturally spicy flavor. The cabbage head is widely consumed raw, cooked, or preserved in a great variety of dishes. A cruciferous vegetable, like its cousin’s broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, cabbage provides a wide variety of health benefits. Cabbage is low in calories and high in vitamin C and dietary fiber. Cabbage is easier to digest in its raw fresh form than when cooked. The longer it is cooked, the less digestible it becomes. Cabbage sprouts are delicate and easier to digest, and they also contain higher levels of nutrients. Avoid buying precut cabbage that are either halved or shredded. The moment the cabbage is cut, it begins to lose its nutrient contents. To store, keep the vegetable refrigerated in a perforated plastic bag to prevent loss of its vitamin C.

Cabbage and Leek Soup
Ingredients
• 2 pints of chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 8 leeks, trimmed, washed and chopped into small pieces
• 2 lb of cabbage hard stalks and outer leaves removed, chopped into pieces.
• 2 carrots cut into small pieces
• 3 sticks of celery cut finely
• 1 onion finely sliced
• 3 teaspoons of salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a large saucepan, bring the stock to the boil. Drop in all the vegetables. Bring back to the boil, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pork with Layered Cabbage

Ingredients
2 pounds of sauerkraut
1 large head green cabbage
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 tsp of finely chopped garlic
1 lb ground lean pork
1/4 cup rice, cooked in boiling salted water (yielding 3/4 cup cooked)
2 lightly beaten eggs
2 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
1/8 tsp marjoram
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup water mixed with 1 cup tomato puree
1 cup sour cream

1 Rinse the sauerkraut in cold water. If needed, soak in cold water 10-20 minutes to reduce sourness. Squeeze dry and set aside. In a large saucepan, bring to a boil enough salted water to cover the cabbage. Add the cabbage, turn the heat to low and simmer 8 minutes. Remove the cabbage and let it drain while it cools enough to handle. Pull off 16 large unbroken leaves and lay them on paper towels to drain and cool further.
2 In a 10-inch skillet, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil, until the onions are lightly colored. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pork, rice, eggs, paprika, marjoram, the onion-garlic mixture, salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Mix well with a fork or wooden spoon.
3 Place 2 tablespoons of the stuffing in the center of one of the wilted cabbage leaves and, beginning with the thick end of the leaf, fold over the sides, then roll the whole leaf tightly, as you would a small bundle. Repeat with more leaves until all the stuffing has been used.
4 Spread the sauerkraut on the bottom of a 5-quart casserole and arrange the cabbage rolls on top of it. Add the water mixed with the tomato puree. Bring the liquid to a boil, then cover the pan tightly and cook the stuffed cabbage over low heat for 1 hour. Transfer the rolls from the casserole to a warm plate. Stir in the sour cream to the sauerkraut. Simmer another 5 minutes. Lift the sauerkraut onto a serving platter with a slotted spoon. Arrange the cabbage rolls on the sauerkraut and pour some of the sauce over them. Serve the rest of the sauce in a sauceboat.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 head green cabbage, quartered through the core
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 salt and ground pepper
Start by putting olive oil in a pan (skillet can be used) over medium heat. Then add the cabbage and cook it until it is golden brown. Around 3 minutes per each side. Then add vinegar, sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a simmer. Cook the cabbage until it is tender. You can use a fork to test it. Cook about 12 to 15 minutes then serve with salt and pepper or replace the salt with soy sauce.

Cole Slaw
Ingredients:
• 6 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Preparation:
Toss cabbage in a large bowl with the carrots. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour the mixture over the cabbage and carrots and toss to coat thoroughly. Refrigerate until serving time.

A Short Collection of Disconnected Anecdotes, around the Theme of Dirt-Laden Moats

2010-02-21T22:12:00.008-05:00

Center City third grade. First class of the week. Team Basil and I are playing in the dirt. Discussing soil. Isaiah says that he doesn’t like the smell of dirt. He likes the smell of fried chicken. We disagree on this topic. Eventually we resolve our differences, agreeing that the smell of chicken in the forest would be pleasurable.

It is our third week of programming, and we are discussing what plants need to survive. The answers we seek are the fundamentals – air, water, light, food, soil. Before disclosing this precious information, we appeal to the class for ideas. To them, the question is posed, “what do plants eat.?” Immediately, as if we had asked on what planet we are sitting, the entire class, in unison, with enthusiasm equal to that if we had asked for volunteers to demonstrate how to eat an entire chocolate cake in 15 seconds, shouts: “TREES!!”

Curious.

At Imagine Hope, our Wednesday school, we had to cram in two lessons this week on account of the Snowlycowtheresalotofsnow days. The students are dissecting soaked bean seeds. They are looking for the sprouted root and leaves inside of the cotyledons. There is the usual snickering because the beans are stinky and slimy. After a moment, though, a lovely occurrence occurs.

“Hey! Look! I found it! Me too! I found them!”

The gleeful outbursts begin to waft up from the general classroom area. Like, like snowflakes or raindrops, falling steadily, scattering around the room. That doesn’t quite work… like a sprinkling of water droplets, landing gently on a smooth surface of water, “yes!’s” ring out, the resultant rippling enthusiasm encouraging their classmates to send their own droplets, their own ripples back out into the class. A contained cacophony of bean-themed exclamations – this is the sound of children getting excited about learning.

After Kacie announced to our first class at Imagine Hope that we would be planting seeds on that glorious day, Jahmes (jah-mez) volunteers the tidbit that okra is his favorite vegetable. Jane (a made up name, because I can’t remember her real name) sneers from across the room. Jahmes clicks his tongue, throws his head back and responds: “aww you crazy, you don’t know what okra is? It’s a pointy vegetable with little black dots….um, seeds, inside (seeds were part of our lesson last week. Big points for Jahmes for working this into his put-down), and its real slippery and gooey and it can be fried or you can eat it regular.

At this, I smiled. Way to go Jahmes. Way to stand up for okra. Way to stand up for yourself. Most of all, way to stand up for foods with unconventional textures.

Franklin and I are holding hands. Well, I am holding Franklin’s hands, which wriggle wildly in mine, trying to free themselves. Franklin’s teeth shine behind his broad smile. There is a small speck of dirt on his right cheek. He’s talking about gettin’ bad guys or mud popsicles or how you plant seeds in space. I’m talking about putting basil seeds in little plastic cups with dirt. At least I’m trying.

Osagie (oh-sah-jee), sits between us saying ‘can I hold your hand? Can you hold my hand? Will you hold my hand? So I hold Osagie’s hand and he squeals, pulling them away, smile bursting onto his face, soil flecks flying into the air like an ocean mist.

Franklin’s the bad boy kind. Generally indifferent, always talkative. Very capable, very smart. Franklin liked playing in the dirt. Franklin couldn’t stop demonstrating the life cycle of plants in the dirt with his fingers. To get Franklin to pay attention, I threatened to hold Franklin’s hand. To get Franklin to calm down, I held Franklin’s hand. He shrieked and made a scene, like cool kids do, because he liked it. But not as much as he liked planting seeds.

Osagie (oh-sah-jee), On Planting

2010-02-19T19:01:00.005-05:00

Week three: planting.
Week three: complete.

more to come soon.

andrew

Notes from a Volunteer

2010-02-19T09:35:00.003-05:00

As a member of the food industry, and someone with an intense passion for cuisine, I came to the Youth Garden interested in learning about where my food came from. I wanted to see my produce in action, in a sense. Growing up in a city, I had never really had much of an opportunity to interact with my vegetables as living things. Reading Michael Pollan and learning about the local food movements made me acutely aware of my ignorance, and I wanted to change that.

Of course, as I soon learned being a volunteer, I wasn’t just watching and learning – I was working! Gardening is serious, sweaty physical labor. The first day I arrived, we spent four hours shoveling soil into neat rows where we would later plant tomatoes. I was sore after—but it felt great. The experience afforded me the opportunity to get in touch with nature – quite literally. Not to ruin the glamorous ideal of garden work—it's funny in retrospect, but I guess I thought I’d be spending the time planting seeds and smelling herbs-- but most of the time I was on the ground pulling weeds.

Ah, weeding.

As Chris, Garden Coordinator extraordinaire, taught us on the very first day, weeding is a task that one must learn to love in an organic garden, because your hands are really the only tools you have to keep these incessant invaders from overtaking the delicate vegetables you’re trying to grow. This agricultural aspect of volunteering at the Youth Garden was very neat, and it inspired me to start my own container garden at home (maybe so that I could spend more time smelling herbs and admiring produce between weeding). I was lucky to have access to some of the best gardening consultants around, as both the staff and the volunteers are extremely knowledgeable gardeners, and they helped me have a very successful first effort.

However, the most fulfilling part of working at the Youth Garden was not the horticultural expertise I gleaned, nor the break-time snacking on sun-ripened strawberries, nor even the pleasure of pulling that last weed from between the rows of potatoes.

The most fulfilling part was working with the children and the families in the Growing Food, Growing Together program, and watching THEM learn the amazing things the garden has to teach. Kids who have barely had access to produce from a grocery store are able to snap a fresh stalk of asparagus out of the ground and eat it – right out of the ground! I saw the families I worked with develop a connection with nature and a fascination with the growth cycle. All of this made them very excited, of course, to be able to bring home the fruits of their labor and eat what they had been working so hard to produce.

During this moment of dietary crisis we are living, with skyrocketing rates of obesity and diabetes, it was inspiring to see the way that this experience could empower these children and families – who happen to come from a population that is most at risk for obesity and diabetes—to learn to grow, cook, and most importantly, enjoy vegetables, and the positive impact that this could have on their community. As someone who hopes to work to change our nation’s dietary habits, I see this as a very powerful program, which, if expanded, could have a huge impact on our country’s health and well-being.

My volunteer experience at the Washington Youth Garden was exciting, moving, and above all, a lot of fun. I tried to share the love by bringing as many friends along as I could, and yes I did manage to have several repeat gardeners (a great feat, when you realize what an 8 a.m. wake up call on a Saturday morning means to a 20-something). I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in food, nature, or people to go ahead and spend a morning at Garden.

I have great respect and admiration for the mission of the Washington Youth Garden, as well as for the staff and dedicated volunteers that make it happen. It was a fantastic summer for me and I feel privileged to have had the chance to volunteer there. Looking forward to next season!

Mariana Cotlear, a novice gardener, is a graduate student. She hopes to work to prevent obesity via nutritional and culinary education and public awareness campaigns. She can be reached at mariana.cotlear@gmail.com.

The Life Cycle of a Child

2010-02-07T22:16:00.004-05:00

Perhaps in the grand scheme of things, seven minutes is not very many minutes. To the existence of dinosaurs, seven minutes would be a tyrannosaurus fart. Gone without acknowledge of its existence. Not even worth batting a limp, useless forearm at. To a third grader, on the other hand, seven minutes of direct eye contact and explicit questioning is an eternity. Like weeks of jury duty, hours sitting in traffic for you or me. There is little outside the realm of battery-operated devices these days that can hold a seven year old’s attention for that many minutes (which is another issue entirely).

This past week was our second of lessons with Garden Science, and we were studying the life cycles of plants. Namely, beans. Remember in elementary school when you put a bean in a cup with a wet paper towel, waited several days, and then wet yourself when the roots emerged? That’s what we’re doing this week.

To start our lesson we define the words ‘seed,’ ‘germinate,’ and ‘maturity,’ which are the three main stages of the life cycle. The drilling is not shortchanged. We have a clearly marked diagram of a sprouted bean. We dissect soaked beans to identify the parts of said sprouted bean. We read a story that clearly outlines the lifecycle of a bean. We then ask the students to tell us about the lifecycle. Often, they do. Finally, we have a drawing exercise, where the students draw the three major components of the cycle: a seed, a germinated plant, and a mature plant, (which are, surprise, the vocab words of the day) using any plant of their choosing.

One student, let’s call her Shirley, chose to illustrate the life of a collard green plant. When I walked over to her, she had done very well – each stage perfectly depicted. The vibrant stylings of crayola artfully filled the space between her pencil strokes. Then it happened. I asked her, ‘what part of the plant is the collard green?’ Queue the clock.

“Ummm….it’s the collard green.” While this answer was technically true, and I must admit that at this response I faltered, this was clearly not the answer I was looking for. I pushed on, inquiring what structural part of the plant comprised the collard green. For the first several minutes, I gave her no help. Asking her shamelessly leading questions, I hoped that she would think back on our prior discussion and come up with the answer herself. “What grows out of the stem in the germination stage?” Shirley stares. Briefly flicks her eyes in the direction of the clock. And stares.

Yielding no progress, I switched approaches.

“OK, what color is a collard green?”

“Green.”

Excitement wells inside me.

“YES!, and think about a tree…you know what a tree looks like, right? What part of a tree is green?”

Shirley’s eyes narrow and after a short pause she says, “leaves.”

“YeS!” trying to pretend like my wild eyes and brimming excitement are not freaking her out, I continue, “and so, what part of the collard green is the collard green??”

“…………the root….?” And her eyes go back to the clock. And my head droops. Just a little bit.

In the end, I gave up.

“It’s the leaf,” I sighed, and got up to move on. Shirley stares at me, and after a moment, continues coloring without any hint of acknowledgement.

While my interaction with Shirley, and others of the sort can be comical, even turned into enjoyable anecdotes, the reality is that these comments are indicative of a fairly serious knowledge gap. A lack of understanding of the food they eat and the natural world around them. One student announced to the class that his favorite vegetable is dough. I was asked by a nine year old if a shrimp is a vegetable. Shrimp are not vegetables. Shrimp are animals.

Unfortunately, this reality of under-education is more a rule than an exception in the lives of average American children. There are myriad forces working against our nation’s children, like corporate advertising, rising inactivity, lack of access to real food, and skyrocketing rates of childhood obesity and diabetes, which result in the gap that our hero has exemplified when discussing collards.

Please know that my intention is not to patronize or look down upon our students, by any means. It is not right to lay blame on the children who are a part of this national ‘mindset,’ if you will. Quite the contrary, I call attention to Shirley and the rest of our students because, in a sense, they are in the minority of the majority by having the opportunity to be a part of the Garden Science programming. They have a chance to acquire the knowledge to fill the gap, and this is one of the many reasons Garden Science excites me.

I’d like to think that our discussion had an impact on Shirley, even if she didn’t directly acknowledge it. In fact, I know that it did. Or at least that it will. Because when the program comes to an end, Shirley will come to the garden, having participated in six more classes. She will have picked up tidbits here and there (accumulating, needless to say, that many more tidbits than her peers who did not get to participate in Garden Science). She will frolic around with her classmates, dodging in and out of the beds, nibbling veggies, generally going nuts. Finally, she’ll run up to me, panting, sweat dribbling down her adorable little brow, holding up a young lettuce plant that, as a result of her unbearable excitement, she has just uprooted instead of harvested. She will say “hey! Mr. Andrew! Leaves!”

Shirley will know that leaves are edible because, even though I gave in to her disinterest last Tuesday, I won’t give up. I’m still new at the education game. Still getting my bearings. Finding my sea legs. No, I won’t give up. Nor will Kacie. Nor will Garden Science. Nor will the movement. I understand now that the most potent current that drives our sustainable food movement is belief. Believing in your message. Believing in your motive. Believing in your lunch. Believing in your students. Believing that even though Shirley isn’t interested now, she will be. Believing that seven uncomfortable minutes with Shirley are worth it, because in the grand scheme of shifting paradigms, seven minutes is not very many minutes.

If you have any questions, comments, general concerns, or are unclear about the structural significance of your favorite vegetable, you can contact me at aplotsky@washingtonyouthgarden.org

Youth Garden, Take 1

2010-01-30T09:51:00.005-05:00

“Nono, no. I’m driving the car and holding the broccoli so that I can eat it when I need more energy, and then see, there’s the transporters so that I can go into the zone where I pick up as much broccoli as I can so then it just appears when I need more because racing is hard and you need a lot of energy and broccoli is good at giving you energy and there’s the swimming pool in the middle of the racetrack. And did you know that your name is my name but mine’s in French?”

It’s been a long time since I’ve been in third grade. In retrospect, it was silly of me to assume that the person-sized broccoli stalk with a face, sitting in the driver’s seat, was driving the car. As Andre dutifully pointed out moments later, broccoli don’t even have thumbs. Too true, Andre. Too true. Thankfully, he, a member of Ms. Harris’s third grade class at the Center City Public Charter School in Trinidad, didn’t make me feel too stupid at my outlandish suggestion. It was, after all, our first day in the classroom, and everybody wants to make friends on the first day.

I’m the new guy at the Washington Youth Garden, an educational nonprofit based out of the National Arboretum (one of the true jewels of the nations capital), which has been inspiring children and families to explore their relationships with food and nature for way longer than urban gardening has been cool. Established in 1971, the WYG manages a one-acre vegetable garden at the arboretum and runs a variety of interdisciplinary, hands-on educational programming.

Specifically, I am working with the Garden Science program, which, in its 8^th year of operation, includes an 8-week environmental science and nutrition curriculum in six 3^rd and 4^th grade D.C. elementary school classrooms.* An exciting new aspect of the program is one in which we construct vegetable gardens with the students, at their respective schools, to be maintained by our students. The program culminates in a trip to our garden at the Arboretum, where the students finally get to let eight weeks worth of suppressed energy and excitement come flooding out. They rampage around the garden, playing with dirt, picking up bugs, and of course, productively observing and working in the garden.

There are a great many reasons why the Garden Science program is a wonderful service to the greater community and an integral asset to the local/sustainable/urban/whatever you want to call it movement that is currently whipping winds of progress around the DC area. Environmental education. Informal learning. Inspiring hope. Nutrition education. Respectfully informing children that neither pizza nor shrimp are vegetables. Smiling. Empowering children. Planting seeds. The list goes on. Embedded among the myriad justifications of Garden Science is the simple fact that the WYG is doing good work for good reasons, and have been doing so for nearly 40 years. Shazam.

Personally, I am excited to have the chance to be working with kids in a gardensciencey-infused atmosphere. To see the smiles that light up their faces at the mention of growing seeds and visiting our garden. To suppress my smiles when their faces scrunch and distort with the desperate straight-armed fingerwiggle maneuver, so desperate to provide answers to our questions. To see the potential in each and every child in the classroom. To get to know the students, and give them something to believe in.

Right, so why do you care what I have to say? I’m getting there.

Relatively speaking, I’m a rookie in this game. For me, youth garden/science education is the latest stop on a ‘tour,’ of sorts, of work around the theme of food and agriculture. So, as I spend time in the classroom, getting to know the kids and re-assimilating to the 3^rd grade wavelength, I’ll make my best attempt to exhibit one of the fundamental pillars of successful classroom behavior: sharing.

Throughout my stint at the WYG, I will be writing weekly(ish) updates on the progress, content, and any or all funny, heart wrenching, politically or socially applicable, fun, thought provoking, visually appealing and/or silly bouts of creativity–like Eric’s ApplejuicePiemachine, a complex contraption involving quantum physics and elaborate engineering that consists of an apple-shaped central chamber that can dispense apple cinnamon, apple pies, apple cider, apple juice, apple trees, and of course, apples, at one’s convenience…but I digress–that come from our regular classroom visits. I’d like to think of this as a kind of window through which one can get an insider’s view of the Garden Science project. I hereby invite you to join in on the fun.

If you have any questions, comments, general concerns, or inquiries into the feasibility of re-creating the ApplejuicePiemachine for commercial purposes, you can contact me at aplotsky@washingtonyouthgarden.org

*The Garden Science program serves two classes in each of the following schools:

Imagine Hope Community Charter School

Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School

Center City Public Charter School, Trinidad Campus

2010-01-25T14:34:00.001-05:00

Vegetable of the Month

Green Beans !!!!!!

Hello, my name is Jonathon Gliss and I’m the youth intern at the Washington Youth Garden. I introduced myself in my last blog called “BEST SUMMER JOB EVER!!!!!!!” Since I want to go to school for culinary arts and since I loved to cook. I decided to have a Vegetable of the Month section. I will pick the vegetables and give you some recipes for them. The vegetable I have chosen for this month is green beans. I hope you enjoy. But before you do, please read the background information below.

Green beans belong to the plant family called Leguminosae. Researchers discovered that they originated from a common bean in Peru. The green bean was introduced to other parts of the Americas by migrating Indian tribes from that region. The green bean was first introduced to Europeans in the 16th century by Spanish explorers returning from the New World.

Green Beans and Radish Salad

Green beans

Radishes, trimmed and sliced

¼ cup oil

¼ cup vinegar

2 clovers of garlic, pressed or finely chopped

1 teaspoon mustard

Steam or boil beans until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Allow beans to cool down. Combine beans and sliced radishes in bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and add dressing to beans and radishes. Season to taste and enjoy!

Veggie Medley

Green beans (whole)

Corn

¼ cup of chopped onions

2 tbsp of butter

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp of thyme (dried)

1 tbsp of parsley (dried)

¼ cup of balsamic vinegar

2tsp of salt

2tsp of pepper

Take a skillet and coat it with butter. Sauté string beans, corn, garlic and onions in a skillet for eight minutes. Then add thyme and parsley. Reduce the heat on low. Add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Season to taste and enjoy!

Green bean Casserole

1 can of Cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 tbsp ground black pepper

4 cups cooked cut green beans

1 1/3 cups French fried onions

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

Stir the Cream of Mushroom, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, shredded cheese, beans, red peppers and 2/3 cup onions in a 1 1/2-quart casserole. Bake at 350°F, for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining onions. Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

Green Bean Salad

1. 5 cups cut green beans

2. 1/2 cup vegetable oil

3. 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

4. salt and pepper

5. salad greens

6. 4 to 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Cook green beans; drain and let cool. Combine green beans with oil, vinegar, and seasonings. Serve green bean salad on salad greens and sprinkle with crumbled bacon. This green bean salad serves 6 to 8.

Garlic-Sesame String Beans

2 pounds of green Beans

2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter at room temperature

1 Tablespoon Garlic minced

2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds

Directions:

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium-size saucepan.
Wash the string beans and cut off the stem ends. When the water has reached a rolling boil, plunge in the string beans and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes, until they are firm but crisp. Heat the butter in a medium size-skillet. When it is foamy add the garlic and sesame seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is slightly browned. Add the string beans and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the string beans are coated with the garlic and sesame seeds.

winter at the Arboretum

2010-01-15T09:18:00.010-05:00

Even though it's pretty sleepy around here, the Arboretum is just as beautiful over the winter. Here are some pictures from our recent wanderings through the conifer collection, which is our program director Kaifa's favorite collection.

Above: the metasequoia grove.

Above: the coolest tree ever - a blue aster weeping cedar.

Above: see, the Anacostia can look nice!

Grow Rack Video

2010-01-14T14:05:00.004-05:00

Learn How To Build Your Own Grow Rack!!!

Better In Season

2010-01-13T16:09:00.003-05:00

written by Jonathan Gliss, youth intern

Fruits and vegetables are extremely nutritious and you should try to eat a wide variety every day. The new food pyramid guide-suggests eating 2.5 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit a day. Regardless of what type of vegetables or fruit you eat, where it came from, or how it was grown, to maintain good health it is important to know these key facts. Many fruit and vegetables help you fight off sickness while others help you maintain your memory. For example kale and carrots are packed with beta-carotene, an important nutrient for good vision. Oranges are full of vitamin C, which helps fight off the cold and flu. Greens, like broccoli and cabbage help to stop cramps of legs and arms.

Even though all vegetables are beneficial to your body and mind, I heard a saying that wraps it up the best. An anonymous farmer once said, “Eating any vegetable at all is good, eating organic vegetables is better, and eating local/seasonal vegetables is best”. The reasoning behind this is that if you get a vegetable or fruit that is not in season, it usually means that it traveled hundreds of miles before arriving at your market. They are probably, not fresh. Can you believe that some vegetables are picked immature so they won’t spoil as fast? Not only does this affect the fresh taste and aroma of your fruits and vegetables, it causes vitamin degradation and nutrient loss. If you buy locally and in season, there is a better chance of the veggies/fruits being fresh and healthier for you.

Coming Soon.......Vegetables of the Month, With Recipes!!!!!

fall in the garden

2009-11-25T11:22:00.009-05:00

View of the garden with our new hand-made wooden benches and tables, whose future home is in our Nature Explore Classroom.

Our Growing Food...Growing Together program participants come back to the garden to harvest greens.

Bok choy

Area of the greens: spinach, kale, lettuce mixes, bok choy, mesculin, endive.

Every fall garden needs Greens Galore

The garlic is a-sproutin'

Garden Cleanup!

Fifth annual Dig In Your Heels 5K a soggy success!

2009-11-06T13:59:00.010-05:00

On Sunday, November 1st, over 600 runners participated in the Washington Youth Garden's annual 5K run around the beautiful grounds of the U.S. National Arboretum.

The race was organized with support from Girls on the Run DC , a non-profit organization that inspires young girls to be active and be positive. This year's Dig In will prove to be especially memorable thanks to the presence of all these shining girls, many of whom completed a 5K for the first time.
Thanks to all the runners, walkers, and volunteers who came out despite the damp conditions, and thanks to all participants, whose support will benefit programming at the Washington Youth Garden.

Seed to Supper campers descend on the White House!

2009-11-04T14:09:00.027-05:00

If you think the lovely girls who grace the top of this blog page are excited about the carrots they are holding, imagine just how big those smiles were when they found out that we were going to take a trip down Pennsylvania Avenue to see the newest garden in town. On a crisp Friday morning in October, WYG staff and twenty young gardeners from our Seed to Supper summer program boarded a school bus and crossed the city quadrants on our way to the White House. Even though all twenty of our children on board are DC residents, none of them had been inside the White House gates before.
As burgeoning gardeners, they were anxious to see what was growing in Mrs. Obama's fall garden, as well as to judge the size of her vegetables in comparison to the vegetables grown by their own hands in the Youth Garden this past summer (above picture: the Obama carrots - hard to declare a winner when one contestant is still in the ground).

Once we were lined up at the South Gate, one of Mrs. Obama's staffers, as well as two White House chefs, came out to greet us. After a few Secret Service guys joined our party, we were allowed to enter the gates.
On our way out to the First Lady's garden, we first passed through some of the formal gardens closer to the building. The children commented on and recognized how beautifully kept these traditionally-styled gardens are (whispers of "are those flowers over there real?"). We of course stopped to take our photo with this surreal backdrop behind us, as well as to bask in the envious stares of those tourists who were staring at us through the gates.
Before we got to the garden, we had the surprise pleasure of meeting the White House beekeepers, Adam and Charlie. Thanks to our summer visit from DC bee-vangelist Toni Burnham, who brings her bees out to the youth garden for our children and families every summer, the children were able to tell Adam and Charlie a thing or two about bees. We even hope to have a beehive at the youth garden by next summer, so maybe Adam and Charlie will come visit us next time around (wink, wink). After we all chatted it up about the important role of pollinators in food production, Adam and Charlie took apart a beehive (don't worry, it was empty!) to show us the different parts inside.
They also shared interesting facts about honey bees, like that it takes the equivalent of nine trips to the moon to make one tablespoon of honey! The White House bee hive was a bit tucked away in a little grove of young trees for protection, but situated close enough to the garden so that the bees wouldn't have to travel quite that far to get the ingredients for their honey.

Once we arrived at the First Lady's garden (it felt wrong, but we were allowed to walk across the grass!), White House chef Susie Morrison gave us a pop quiz. She said, since you guys have your own garden, you tell me what we have growing here. Well, the answer was, a lot!
The children identified broccoli, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, a few tomatoes still hanging on, turnips, kohlrabi, fennel, kale, spinach, lettuce, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, beans, and mint. We would have scored 100% except for the tricky kohlrabi, which we didn't plant in the youth garden this season.

There was one thing that was missing from this garden though: weeds! The children noticed how clean-cut this garden is, asking Susie, "don't you guys get weeds here or do you just really like weeding?" Susie answered that there was going to be a photo shoot of the garden the next day, so everything was freshly weeded and mulched.

One of our children noticed a big wooden box slightly hidden behind some trees and inquired if that might be the compost, a central part of every organic garden. Susie confirmed that yes, that was the compost, but could not confirm if the Obama family's (uncooked) dinner scraps ended up there.
We really applaud the First Lady's efforts to draw attention to the connection between our health and where our food comes from, which has an especially significant impact on our country's youth. We know from experience that if children grow it, they'll eat it! And a lot of the time, they won't even wipe the dirt off first! The White House has made the public call for school groups to come visit the First Lady's garden, so we hope that more schools and organizations take them up on the offer. It is truly a memorable experience for gardeners of all ages.

Sweet Potatoes!

2009-10-16T13:48:00.005-04:00

It's been a long time that we've been waiting to harvest our sweet potatoes. They require anywhere from 100 to 140 days to mature, depending upon their variety. Ours were somewhere in the middle. We were holding off until we had the perfect setting in which to harvest them and it was well worth it - our visiting SPROUT group from Tree of Life Public Charter School were besides themselves with excitement.

While all vegetables are exciting to harvest, there is something particularly magical to children about pulling unseen roots and tubers from their home in the dark, rich soil. Our viney sweet potatoes seemed like a jungle, which added another element of wonder.

The children learned about sweet potatoes (they are native to the Americas, while yams are native to Africa) and how nutritious they are (loaded with Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber). Then we set to work digging. Youth garden adult staff members used pitch forks to loosen up the soil, being careful not to puncture the sweet potatoes we couldn't see. Then the children spread out and dug around until they found the buried treasure, usually letting us know they have found something by way of a very loud but excited scream.

Since we let our sweet potatoes stay in the ground for a long time, some were as big as footballs. Most were a manageable size though. We gave the largest one to the children to take back and have in their classroom and will donate the rest to a local soup kitchen.

BEST SUMMER JOB EVER!!!!!!!

2009-10-16T11:22:00.010-04:00

Hello, my name is Jonathon Gliss. I'm 17 years old and I am a student assistant at the Washington Youth Garden. During the summer I was the first Youth Intern at the Washington Youth Garden. I weeded, harvested, and helped with a lot of the garden projects, and even was the camp counselor for the children at The Seed to Supper Program. I had never had a job like this and didn't know what to expect.

I got involved with the Washington Youth Garden through an organization I was in called The Ports Town Youth Council. The Ports Town Youth Council, is an organization run by Rev. Gail Addison. PTYC members are children selected by their schools or community leaders to act as the voice of community youth in their homes, neighborhoods, schools, churches and civic organizations. We are partners with Kaiser Permanente and their Healthy Eating Active Living Initiative. So this summer we all had to find summer jobs that deal with our health. Since I wanted to get a degree in Culinary Arts and Food Service management, I was chosen to work at the Washington Youth Garden.

The first day I got here I met Chris Turse (Garden Coordinator), and Kaifa Anderson-Hall (Program Director). On my first day I had weeded a whole section at the end of the garden. By the end of the day I was so sore. I was sure that this would be a long boring summer. But as the first week went by, things started to grow on me and I was loving the Garden. My second week I met the Seed to Supper kids. I instantly connected with a few kids. I taught them and they taught me. Teaching them about plants and vegetables was a joy. They would always have a question or clever comment and I think that's what made it so fun. Sometimes I think the children listen to me better than they did the adults. I also had the opportunity to work with Chef Carla Hall who was a contestant on Top Chef. She has supported the Seed to Supper program for four years. On my last day I got to do something I never thought I would do. I gave a cooking demonstration for the kids. It was so cool and they were so amazed. I made a vegetable medley. They loved it and kept asking for more.
The Washington Youth Garden helped me do something I always dreamed of doing. This has been the coolest job I ever had. I have decided to come back and work here part time until I graduate in May. This has changed my life for the best. I have done things that will help me and benefit me when I go off to college. So I would like to thank the Youth Garden for everything they have done for me.

Dig In Your Heels 2009: SAVE the DATE!

2009-09-18T11:47:00.002-04:00