For our EACAP project, we had the fantastic opportunity to work with the garden club from Glenside Elementary school. Ms. Boyer (the nurse from the school) is the instructor of the club which gave us incredible ideas on how to participate and interact with the kids. We planted different type of vegetables. Tomatoes, green beans, carrots, and lettuce were the vegetables we used for this project. We were able to plant different kinds of seeds, which later became seedlings ready for the kids to plant. We took pictures and record all the different stages for which the plants go through, to see their development throughout the weeks. We worked with kids from 5th grade, which were very lovely and friendly. First, we gave out a presentation explaining all the things that are needed to make the seedling grow healthy and strong. During our presentation, we asked different questions related to our topic. The kids were genius, and they were able to answer the question cleverly. After we were done with the presentation, we split the kids into four different groups. Each of us worked with a different team and gave the kids the necessary tools to plant.
Most of us grew up on a farm, planting new things every day. It was an incredible opportunity to be able to teach someone else all the things we learned when we were little. Being able to work with kids was an amazing experience; it made us feel good being able to give back to our community. There were so many things that we were able to learn from this project. First, we learned that kids have an enormous imagination. We worked with 5th graders, but the kids had great potential, for which we were also able to learn a lot from them. Next, we learned how much dedication, time and effort is needed to take care of a plant. Before working in this project, we had no idea how many things were required for a plant to grow; it’s more than just sun and water. Some of the kids compared a plant with a baby. They said that just like babies, plants need love and time to be able to grow. Also, we realized that being able to recognize all the different needs that are required in every stage of pant will be helpful to speed up the process. Lastly, we learned how to work in as a team. All of us had different ideas on how things were going to be done. We were able to put all the ideas together to make sure we completed all the work in the right time and with good quality.
In conclusion, this project was a great opportunity to help us connect with nature and to see all the new things we can do to help our society. Before working on this project, we were not aware of all the different elements that are needed to grow a plant. Now, we have the knowledge and the capacity to help others by explaining them all the different stages for which a plant goes through. Also, this project helped us to become closer with each other, share ideas and provided a great job. The seedling project overall has been the most excited and fun activity that we have done so far during this semester. Working with kids reminded us of when we were in middle school and all the different activities we use to do. Now that we are in college, we are happy to help the kids learn new things. The garden club from Glenside elementary school did a great job by planting the seedlings, they were very excited, and at the end of our project, they all said thank you and said bye to us. That was a beautiful moment which we will never forget.