🎧 Wave Reads For You
The school year was almost over for Mrs. Thomas and her Grade 6 class. It was a real challenge for the teacher to keep the classroom under control. The excitement about summer holidays was building every day.
Yet underneath the chatter, Mrs. Thomas was aware of a certain restlessness. These kids were now old enough to be aware of what was going on in the world. It was impossible to not be disturbed by global and local news. War. Climate change. Trade tariffs. Poverty. “Why is everybody so angry?”
The teacher decided to face some of these issues head on. But instead of focusing on the troubling topics, she encouraged her students to think about solutions. She asked them to become influencers for good. “What can we all do in our own way to better the world we live in? To protect our country, our community, and our families?” Then she suggested that they write about their findings and experiences to share with the class as their first assignment in the Fall.
Fast forward to September. The kids rose to the challenge. These are their stories:
How Does Your Garden Grow?
By Gretchen, age 10
I thought a lot about Mrs. Thomas’ lessons. It’s true that there are many problems in the world today. Everybody talks a lot – like politicians when they’re trying to win Mom and Dad’s votes. But where are the solutions that my teacher wants us to find? It’s easy to say “recycle more” or “don’t litter”, but these things should be almost automatic by now. Seriously, I really don’t understand how some people can walk right by a garbage can and then toss their Big Mac wrapper on the ground. Sheesh!
At first, I felt hopeless. I mean, I’m ten. I don’t drive a car, I don’t own a factory, and I definitely don’t have the power to stop climate change. The biggest decision I make most days is whether to eat my grilled cheese with ketchup or without. And I’m lucky. Some people need to make the decision whether to eat or pay their rent, which is a very sad choice. I feel very bad for those people They are the ones who make me want to think hard to find a solution.
But then something happened. Something delicious.
One day, my parents took me to a “farm-to-table” restaurant. I didn’t know what that meant. Maybe it was going to be like a science fair where they set up miniature farms. It sounded weird but also kind of cool. Especially if, at the end of the fair, we got to eat the projects!
The restaurant was very nice. There were no farm animals anywhere, no even miniature ones. But once we started reading the menu, I began to understand. It said that the carrots were from “Sunny Acres Farm,” the chicken from “Maple Grove Poultry,” and the strawberries from “Greenhill Orchards.” All local farms! So most of the food was freshly picked… some that very morning!
I had never really thought about this before. How could an apple from a far-off country be as good as one grown right here? What chemicals were used to keep it fresh? And how much money does it take to deliver it all? My Mom won’t let me buy things online when there’s a shipping cost. And how much gas is burned during all that travel? My brain was spinning.
The food tasted amazing. Like, the carrots were so sweet I didn’t even need ranch dressing. Same thing for the chicken nuggets. And while I was chewing, I wondered if my solution should be about food? It’s something everyone needs, and if we can make it better for the planet, that’s a big deal.
Near the end of our meal, the restaurant owner came over to get our feedback. We told her everything was delicious and she was very happy. I asked her how she got the idea to open the restaurant. She laughed and said it was not her idea; it’s a very popular concept. But she has always had a passion for growing food and inventing recipes. Did I want a very quick tour of her rooftop garden? You bet I did!
With her inspiration and lots of encouragement from Mom and Dad, I decided to spend the summer building a community garden. Assignment done. Planet saved. I couldn’t wait to get started.
Except… not so fast.
How do I begin? In my head, my beautiful garden was right on our front lawn so everybody could see it. “Whoa, Nellie!” said Mom. “Not a chance.” So where? And who would help? And how would we get money for everything we would need?
Dad said he was proud of me. I was working things out and thinking logically. “Every project needs a plan,” he said as he handed me his iPad. “I’m happy to help.”
The first item on our list: Marketing. We created a proposal to describe what I wanted to do, what all the benefits would be, and why people should care. This is what we would use to get people interested. I made a little poster with a big smiling tomato. Want to help a kid start a vegetable garden? it read.
The second item was more complicated. Where? It turns out you can’t just dig up someone’s lawn. Or just start planting things in a park. There are rules. There are zones. Vacant lots belong to somebody. Gardens need lots of water, so we’d need a location with a water source – or a really long hose.
We put this to one side while we tackled the next item: Money. We had a long list of things that we would need. Dad and I brought one of my posters to Home Hardware. The Manager said she would see how she could help with some kind of sponsorship. Then she gave us 20 packets of seeds. She called it her personal contribution… what a score!
I called my friend who used the site GoFundMe to raise funds for his project. He helped me set it up, because he had experience. “Each one, teach one,” he said. Cool.
And then another stroke of luck. While at the local nursery (where we scored free seedlings!), I ran into Mrs. Thomas. She was very impressed to hear about my plan, and had a great idea. There was an area at the far end of the school property that used to be a flower garden. If we cleaned out all the weeds and freshened the soil, it would be perfect.
So now, all we needed was Volunteers. The posters really helped. Mrs. Patel down the street loves gardening. Mr. Chan has tools and can build things. My friend Jake has tons of energy. Maggie from the restaurant came over several times to help with advice. Even Mrs. Thomas put on overalls and spent many hours pruning and tying up stakes. My Mom was there to supervise and make sure I didn’t set anything on fire.
Here’s something I learned about gardening: it takes forever. It seemed like ages before we started to see little green shoots. And it is a lot of work. Between the bugs and the squirrels, we managed to harvest enough peas and spinach, cucumbers, green onions, cherry tomatoes, and squash for several deliveries to the Food Bank.
And the best part? The garden can be forever. Even after I go back to school, the team plans to keep it going for next year. It’s like we planted an idea along with the seeds.
