23 Jun Our First Weeks of Summer at Our Community Urban Garden
Week One: Plant Growth and Development
Our community urban garden at The Felege Hiywot Center just kicked off the first few weeks of the 7-week long summer program. Our students have already started making a community impact by working at Unity Park alongside members of the community to weed and tend to the park. We enjoyed working alongside the members and learning more about our community urban garden. Our youth were able to explore the neighborhood and learn more about The Felege Hiywot Orchard located a few blocks from our main community urban garden and has exploded with raspberries, apples, and grapes.
During this time our students were able to try various fruits and vegetables that the center has to offer. They tried the raspberries, apples, mustard, cilantro, purslane, wood sorrel, peppers, and mull berries. They also learned which plants were edible and they really enjoyed the wood sorrel!
Throughout the week our students were able to meet Kevin Allison from the Marion County Soil and Water Conservation as well as Stephanie McLain from the National Resources Conservation Service Indiana (NRCS). Kevin and Stephanie put on an engaging and educational presentation for our students.
The students were able to learn about the organic matter in the soil and how to test healthy and unhealthy soil. They were able to test soil in our own backyard. Then they learned how to used Potassium Permanganate to test how much carbon and nitrogen were in the soil. The students were very engaged and had a blast testing the soil.
On Friday, June 15th, the members of Carriage House East joined us and were able to experience the farm and learn about who we are and what we do here in our urban community garden. The Carriage House East students enjoyed working with the students at FHC.
Week Two: Photography with Paul Best
Our second week of The Felege Hiywot Summer Garden Program was relaxed but very effective. The students started the photography classes with Photographer and Storyteller Paul Best as well as worked with the IUPUI CEES interns. They were very excited and enthusiastic about the photography classes.
This week our students spent more time around the center picking weeds and tending to the needs of the garden. The students are excited about the incubator that was donated to house our fertilized chicken eggs. They have been handling the responsibly very well, checking the temperature, humidity level, and turning the eggs every two hours. They were even able to name their own chicken.
Our students had the opportunity to get a change of scenery and go downtown and take pictures at the Indianapolis Art’s Garden. They had a blast! On Friday they were able to showcase their pictures at the Center. The first weeks were successful in kicking off the summer program.
If you would be interested in getting involved with our amazing programs please contact us to find out about volunteer opportunities.