Houston, TX -The YES PREP middle school students visit to the Houston chapter of the All African People's Development and Empowerment Project (AAPDEP) 5th Ward Community Garden was a huge success!
This is said with confidence because the students learned about the deleterious effects of food deserts and how to eliminate them, rainwater harvesting, and the row planting versus the construction of raised beds.
After receiving a warm 5th Ward welcome and introduction to the garden, the students eagerly became involved in working with the tools and the importance of tool safety, planting seeds and when to plant what, the importance of gathering mulch.
The students were able to see the tiller in action and even a little weeding!
We also touched on growing seeds in pots when you have little area to work with.
The students were definitely in 'class' with the information they received about rainwater harvesting and drought protection with our new rainwater system we recently installed.
We had a lot of hands on time and we kept them busy right up until the bus rolled up, with no time for sitting around.
And let's not forget about Teacher Grace! She dug right in with the best of them!
There was fun involved too
You can see in one of the pics attached some of the students gathering vegetables to take home to their families, i.e. eggplant, peppers, peas.
Stay tuned for recipes from garden i.e. grilled or fried egg plant. Mmm… delicious.
The industrious students took care in learning to plant seeds with one of our members, Mary Tompkins, for the next 'harvest'.
The 'Helpers' and 'Most Participation' students were awarded with hand-painted stones as souvenirs from our garden, created by AAPDEP member Aja Zola.
As an organization dedicated to developing community based projects which focus on improving the quality of life of African people worldwide, AAPDEP has a three- fold mission focusing on health, agriculture, and education.
During the agricultural day at the garden, YES prep students learned some valuable points and secret tips about starting and maintaining an organic garden.
The garden teach-in was so educational and fun for the students they asked to return.
Well, they have to now…to get the harvest they just planted! So we have them on schedule for a return visit in December.
During this second visit, we will build a compost box and work on some garden beautification DIY projects.
Stay tuned to hear how we will construct the most unique hanging garden in 5th Ward. This hanging garden will serve as the bed for crops like squash and beans.
Bring your group to the AAPDEP 5th Ward Community Garden
Contact us!.
Call for scheduling or donations. Omowale Kefing – 214-707-7309, 3711 Brill Street, Houston, TX77026-4619
