Whitney Pier garden club growing tomorrow's leaders
A garden in Whitney Pier is part of a leadership program run out of the Boys and Girls Club aimed at getting children and teenagers planting, growing and maintaining a vegetable garden.
There are half a dozen raised beds and a greenhouse.
Taylor MacLean is one of the eager gardeners harvesting bright green bunches of kale.
"I like planting the seeds and watering them and doing fun stuff," said MacLean.
She also sees the benefits. "Because there's stuff in the garden that's healthy and you need to eat it."
Robbie Hussey is the student garden leader.
He and others cluster around the dozens of plants in the greenhouse.
A high school student, he's helping teach the younger kids. He's learning lots himself.
"I had no idea what zucchini looked like until now," said Hussey. "And it gives me a little more patience with things because plants require patience or otherwise they aren't going to grow."
The children are involved in all aspects of the garden — planting, watering, weeding and harvesting.
Their bounty includes onions, zucchini, herbs, carrots, lettuce, corn and eggplant.
Madeline Yakimchuk is the youth club's gardener.
"For me the most important thing is that I'm making memories," said Yakimchuk. "I don't think it's important if these particular kids garden next year or the year after, but they will remember."
She said she's impressed by what they're learning, including going out of their comfort zones to try kale.
"That delight at trying it, of putting it in their mouth and trying it, is quite amazing."
Aidan Karney helped make deliveries of lettuce, cucumber and zucchini to the youth club building from the garden.
"It's fun helping the plants and helping people, too," said Karney.
'The plants get bigger and bigger'
Karney said he loves coming down to the garden.
"It feels nice because the plants get bigger and bigger every time I see them," he said.
Hussey said it's a great process for everyone.
"They get to see what they plant and it grows for them and eventually they get to eat it," he said.
He said his gardening interests have been piqued, although perhaps for later in life.
An interesting endeavour
"Maybe when I'm older and have my own area to do it," said Hussey. "Not right now, but maybe sometime in the future."
Hussey said he's surprised at how well the garden is going.
"Kids don't really see it as interesting at first," he said. "But then later when they see how interesting it is, they want to do it more."
Yakimchuk predicts they'll be picking kale well into the winter.
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