By Canisha Bell
Sitting at our monthly writer’s meeting for the magazine — where we pitch story ideas and talk about life, politics, and everything in between — I felt settled.
I hadn’t brought a story to pitch, as it’s not a requirement. There are always story ideas though, so if you come to our gathering without a story, most likely you’ll still leave with one.
“I thought of you for this one,” my editor said, smiling at me.
I smiled back. She was right. The story was definitely something I would’ve pitched had I heard about it: a community garden at St. John Vianney Catholic School. I was intrigued.
From there, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Theresa Marshall, the principal at St. John Vianney (SJV) about the school’s community garden. Our conversation inspired me to think about my own growth and evolution – and really our shared growth and evolution as humans.
Just as a seed contains the potential to become a full-grown plant, we also have inherent potential to grow and develop into what we aspire to be.
St. John Vianney has a total of eleven garden beds, which were started last year. Eight of these beds are on the side of the building and are open to the community to harvest as they please. Many times you may see locals getting green beans, squash, garlic, or even herbs such as basil and sage from the garden. SJV students will pick tomatoes to eat as they wait for their bus at the end of the day.
Because they wanted participation from all students at SJV, three of the beds are in the school’s fenced playground area. These beds are where the youngest SJV students grow and cultivate their garden, which consists mostly of sunflowers and dahlias.
It was refreshing to hear Dr. Marshall explain how empowering it has been for the students to observe the seeds they planted grow and then be able to pick them.
“It really sparked an interest in the whole idea of making something grow and then being able to do something with it … to have them see it grow from seed, I was excited about that because many of them had never had that experience before,” she said.
Many of the parents who come to the school for a meeting or conference will leave with bags full of produce grown and harvested by their own children.
SJV received funding from the state of Michigan through the Meet Up and Eat Up program. The program works with United Way of Southeastern Michigan to provide breakfast and lunch for children 18 and younger Monday to Friday all summer long and during some school breaks.
Being a mother of school aged children, I was familiar with the program but only through a lens of a location to “meet up” and “eat up” the pre-packaged food it provided. It was a surprise to me that this same opportunity offered an option to start a community garden — and that that’s the route St. John Vianney went.
I’ve heard the quote plenty of times “give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”
These children are learning to cultivate for a lifetime. They’re learning the process and life cycle of food from seed to harvest. They’re experiencing what it looks like to provide an environment for the seed to thrive and grow.
I think as human beings we flourish under the right conditions —a thriving environment — as well. And I think a thriving environment may look different for us all.
For me, it’s positivity, really monitoring what I’m listening to and who I’m listening to, the food I’m eating, and the sights I take in everyday.
I’m intentional to allow prosperous words to enter my ears. I try to take in beautiful scenic views as much as possible — and there are plenty right here in Flint. I try to consume natural foods and drinks, and I am care-full (full of care) that meaningful words leave my mouth.
My conversation with Dr. Marshall was definitely nutritious. And my hope is that this article, like the garden beds her students tend, is meaningful and offers all those who encounter it a new way to think, learn, and grow – whatever way that may look for our community.
