Fostering a Passion for Gardening
By Abe Underhill, Lab School Teacher at UC’s Arlitt Child Development Center
Pulling carrots out of soft soil with young students marked the beginning of my journey as a school gardener. The soil was held in a sensory table on the edge of a parking lot in downtown Cincinnati. Even in this harsh environment, it was wonderful to tend a simple garden. Over the intervening two decades, I have developed and cared for gardens with many preschool classes. The Arlitt Center at the University of Cincinnati has been my school community for the past thirteen years. We have limited growing space but have found creative ways to use planters and unpaved areas.
When I learned about the Growing Our Teachers program offered by the Civic Garden Center (CGC), I was curious about this opportunity to expand my knowledge of gardening and connect with the wider school garden network. The monthly meetings were a refreshing highlight of my year. CGC Youth Education Coordinator Ellie Falk planned a schedule that included a wide variety of guest speakers as well as site visits and even a cooking excursion to the Cincinnati Museum Center. The cohort included educators working with students from preschool up to high school. Some teachers were just starting out, planning their first garden spaces. Others, like me, had been gardening for many years. Despite our different school settings, students ages and experience, we formed a close connection with each other. We enjoyed sharing stories and gardening tips and helped navigate challenges.
The regular meetings helped me keep the garden in mind even through the winter months. Spring is a busy time at Arlitt as the school year wraps up, but for the first time, I was proactive and took advantage of this season, planting seeds provided by the CGC. Before the year ended, we harvested a small crop of radishes and could see kale growing. My students couldn’t wait to pull the radishes out of pots, and many were adventurous enough to taste the spicy vegetables! Between school years, the summer camp children helped me tend cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, flowers and herbs. When the new school year started, students were greeted with a verdant garden and opportunities to harvest the fresh vegetables. Our school cook, Kathy, recently roasted okra from the garden for lunch. I looked forward to digging up potatoes from our raised bed and seeing how many tomatoes ripened before the first frost. I’m also experimenting with extending the garden growing time with some fall crops such as broccoli and Brussel sprouts.
During a recent conversation with Ellie, I learned that the Growing Our Teachers program is continuing, and a full cohort of teachers has signed on for the year. I am excited for my fellow educators and thankful that this vital work is supported in our community. The CGC is fostering passion for gardening in a new cohort and influencing the lives of countless children.
From the school gardens themselves to the children who garden in them to the educators who guide their experiences—the CGC supports them all. You can support nurturing the next generation, too, by donating to the CGC. Your gift supports stories like Abe’s—and all the stories that ripple out from the gardens that he and hsi fellow educators tend. Thank you!