COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VA. – Tussing Elementary School students learn that science can be fun when you get your hands dirty.
“I asked her, ‘who brought their digging tools?'” Said Colonial Heights High School teacher and coach and coach Tracy Boyd, holding up his fingers. “And I said, ‘You are right here’. And they took that excitement home with them and wanted to plant at home. “
He teaches elementary school students the love and rewards of tending plants with two new raised gardens.
But the kids wouldn’t have as much fun studying if it weren’t for Maria Elena Smith, a senior at Colonial Heights High School.
She received her Girl Scout Gold Award for building the raised beds for students to garden in.
“I really wanted to plant this seed in them to get excited about farming and growing,” said Smith. “Some of the kids went home and wanted to build an elevated garden in their back yard.”
There is a growing interest in all kinds of subjects.
“How to learn about the water cycle, life cycle and agriculture,” said Smith. “They didn’t really have that resource for us.”
“They watered these plants every day,” Boyd said. “And that is responsibility. It’s not just about growing things and eating them. It’s a bit of a responsibility, and hopefully they’ll keep it going for a lifetime. “
Smith was once an elementary school student at Tussing. Now, before going to college, she sees what comes out of a little love, hard work, and responsibility.
Building something as small as a garden … means building better minds.
