The Service Learning program at Woodward Academy is designed to connect students to the community. And sometimes that means getting a bit messy.
“We focus on experiences that allow students to get their hands dirty,” said David-Aaron Roth, the school’s service-learning coordinator. “That gives them a greater understanding of what it means to engage with dignity.”
One of the program’s initiatives is about getting dirt under fingernails. The College Park campus already had a greenhouse, but Roth and student service leaders saw a way to extend its purpose beyond classroom-only learning.
“Our student leaders said, ‘Let’s make this real,’ so we started to recognize ways to use our facilities to invest deeply in community partners,” said Roth. “In the last year, we’ve refocused on how what we do in our greenhouse can benefit the community.”
That focus created Woodward Grows, a program that has student volunteers planting, harvesting and distributing ripe veggies to local food pantries and other organizations. Since launching last fall, the project has yielded about 475 pounds of produce.
Students worked with Marianne Lecesne, the program’s service sponsor, to plant a variety of seasonal crops in the greenhouse and six outdoor beds.
“We’ve had green beans, kale, collards and broccoli over the winter,” she said. “We recently planted onions, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers and tomatoes, and we’re adding carrots, peas and potatoes. We’re also trying to do some novel things, like growing strawberries in 3-foot vertical towers. We also have a pecan tree on campus, and we’ve harvested and distributed more than 75 pounds of pecans, too.”
Students pack up the produce, and Lecesne delivers it to local organizations, including Family Life Ministries in Hapeville and Love Beyond Walls in College Park.
“Family Life serves families and seniors who come in asking for fresh produce,” she said. “They’re used to getting things in a can or a box, so it’s been exciting for them to get the fresh produce.”
Senior Arun Rama-Krishnan joined the leadership board last year and asked to be part of Woodward Grows to combine service with learning about agriculture.
“At home, my parents do a lot of gardening, but I try not to,” he said with a laugh. “In this program, we see kids coming in to fulfill their service hours requirements, but they enjoy it so much, they come back. There’s plenty to do when we’re harvesting almost every day.”
It’s not just students who want to be part of the project, said Lecesne.
“We’ve had parents and alumni ask to participate, and we’ve had to say no,” she said. “But we are looking to partner with the lower and primary schools. And a faculty member came up with the idea of sending recipes with the produce bags, so eventually we’d like to have a little book we could give out.”
Roth sees similar opportunities for the program to expand. “And that’s where the true growth in Woodward Grows appears,” he said.
SEND US YOUR STORIES.
Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
About the Author
