Trees NC Summer Program Kicks Off

Garden Taste Test: Friday, June 27:

By Robin Breedlove, Trees NC Summer Program Director  - Youth Environmental Service ( YES! )

Central Boys and Girls Club, Asheboro, NC

Edited by Trees NC

"We met in the garden at 10 a.m., where 12 youth ranging in age from 9-12 were in attendance.

The youth were able to explore in the garden and identify different foods that are currently growing or in the process of developing, along with herbs and flowers. We discussed where different foods grow, such as from a tree, under ground, on a flowering vine, etc.

We then moved to the garden picnic tables were every child received a plate and could explore different foods, be it by taste, touch, or smell. Some of the foods that were explored were: beets, radishes, onions, potatoes, lemon, banana, cantaloupe, avocado, blueberries, and a variety of tomatoes, including a small brown tomato called by local farmers as the “chocolate tomato.” 

As can be expected, there was a variety of responses from the children and many tried foods for the first time to discover they liked them or that they did not. All in all, it was a productive and educational way to visit the garden hands-on, explore different foods that are grown in a variety of ways, and have a nice morning snack.

At this time, I introduced the idea of composting to the youth during the taste test, collecting all the fruit and vegetable scraps from our meeting, and informed the youth that the Club would soon have their own composter to dispose of such scraps that would eventually go back to helping nurture the garden. The youth took a great interest in this, collecting the leftovers and peelings from the taste testing and are looking forward to learning more about composting next week."

Trees NC Thanks Robin Breedlove for her leadership for our Yes! East Side Summer Program!