YORK, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – York Water and Soil is revamping the garden series program by working with elementary students, teaching kids how to plant, grow and harvest foods.
An eight lesson series allows kids from area elementary schools to get digging and planting their own foods to harvest. Conservation District Coordinator, Chasity Jones says for many students this is their first time having a meal straight from a garden.
“So I just completed at four lesson series over in Clover and we had our harvest last week — where the children went and they helped pick the radishes and we picked the lettuce. And then at lunchtime the children sat down and actually ate their salads.”
Jones says when learning the importance of environmental conservation, students take away more after enjoying a meal they grew and harvested themselves.
“I think that helped them actually try it, when they may not have tried it before. Because a lot of kids don’t like salad and they have a side where they just love them and they can’t get enough of them. So, I think that made a difference too.”
Black’s Peaches’ Beth White’s grandfather helped start York Soil and Water Conservation and now she serves as the board chair. She says it’s important to begin teaching children where their food comes from.
“These days children just don’t know where their food comes from, you know they just see it at the grocery store and it just magically appears, poof. So by Chasity and York Soil and Water going out into the schools, in the classrooms, and building gardens and showing kids how their food gets here from seed and then they get to pick it, and then they get to wash and eat it, I think it’s very exciting for kids,” says White.
“It’s our responsibility to spread the word. It’s our responsibility to teach them and allow them to have these fundamental blocks to grow on,” says Jones.
In the video above, CN2’s Rachel Richardson is speaking with York’s Water and Soil Conservation leaders about the program.
