Cultivating Partnership Through Gardening

by Sylvia Terpstra, Grace Fellowship Community Church

Through our participation in the Sanchez School Health & Nutrition Fair for the past couple of years, we made contact with the school gardener, and learned about their active school garden program. In fact, Sanchez Elementary is a model for the Slow Food in Schools project, the first in San Francisco to receive a soil-less "vertical garden." There are now two of them on site, one entirely operated by solar panels and a wind turbine, and the other nourished by a built-in fish pond. Students actively participate in both the traditional and vertical gardens, from planting, tending, to harvesting and cooking the bounty in the school's tasting kitchen. This is a great way to teach about where our food comes from and cultivate the appreciation and taste for fresh local produce.

With GUM providing coordination with the school, an opportunity to arose to assist with their Spring cleaning. Thus, on a blue and gray Sunday afternoon, sixteen of us from Grace Fellowship Community Church's gardening group headed for Sanchez Elementary and all of us were full of enthusiasm.

Athena Barouxis, the current school garden coordinator, greeted us warmly and showed us the area along Sanchez Street that was formerly a "native California plants" area, now overtaken by weeds. She was very appreciative and worked alongside us the whole time.

It was amazing how our team just fanned out and got to work. Several times we asked Athena to point out which were the real weeds, and stumbled upon the remains of a potato patch that yielded a nice little harvest. Some of the spuds are now transplanted in our gardens. It was good to get our hands dirty, work alongside and chat with each other. The slow, deliberate pace also afforded a chance to reflect on the wonder of God's good creation and provision. The children were wonderful helpers, transporting bundles of weeds to the compost area with the wheel barrow, and later watering plants with the nifty plastic tubs with the "holey" bottom.

In about three hours, we transformed and restored the area. Passers-by stopped and commented on the improvement. Athena was very appreciative of our partnership, and we all look forward to working together again.