May 5th was Herb Day at the CWE Community Garden in the 5000 block of Waterman. This vegetable and fruit garden is being cultivated by CWE Board Member Arthur Culbert with assistance from the 4th grade class at New City School.
Two Saturdays ago Geoff Beal, an herbalist, offered an afternoon workshop at the garden that included a scavenger hunt for children, information on herbs and their benefits, and an Hibiscus-blend iced tea from Kateri Meyer of the Traveling Tea Company. You'll find Kateri at the Tower Grove Farmers Market on Saturdays.
There was a teaching moment about beneficial bugs when a ladybug was discovered on an apple tree planted on the periphery of the garden, see below. Geoff Beal informed me that later on a wiggly earthworm showed up unexpectedly to the delight of the 3 to 9 year olds who were there.
Three-year-old Hazel tries out the architectural stonework that was salvaged from a neighbor's yard by Tom Brackman for use as an outdoor classroom. The community garden experience is being used by the 4th grade teachers at New City as a class on citizenship. The students harvest the vegetables they've planted from seed for two food pantries located in the neighborhood.
Last Monday the 4th graders were going to pick strawberries and spinach (below) for Trinity's Food Pantry. The other food pantry the students serve is at Second Presbyterian Church. I'll be posting a story on Second Church's program later.
Geoff Beal is a Professional Herbalist and Naturopath who does herbal health counseling with individuals over 20 years of age. To contact Geoff, who also loves to work with children (and adults) at schools, summer camps, community gardens, etc.: [email protected].