Even though its been a few weeks since, I wanted to share some pictures from the 'outdoors' part of Experience Dickson Night (where I got to help out running the potato splitting station, and meet a lot of nice parents and their children in the process):
Thank you to all the Dickson teachers and parents that helped out with our 'outdoor' portion of the night's festivities, as well as to the community partners who attended and sponsored us (Asheville Greenworks, Sow True Seed, Asheville Mulch Yard -- to name three that I can think of right now). And of course, thank you to Joan for helping to organize the demonstrations and activities!
NOW, LET'S SEE WHERE WE CAN GO!
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(THIS IS BASICALLY AN END-OF-THE-YEAR PERSONAL REFLECTION... as such, nothing said here should be construed as the opinion of anyone else -- Brad, Joan, Jude Law, etc. -- but me, Matt, a first-year Dickson parent)
This past year was my first as a Dickson parent... and let me say that above all else, I have felt extremely welcomed into a wonderfully diverse and marvelously active community! This, of course, includes the dedicated group of people I've come to know in volunteering in and around the school's gardening activities.
As the school year comes to a close, and with it said activities, the first thing I am reminded of is how lamentable it is... that the BUSIEST, MOST REWARDING time for gardening is in the summer -- when most youth are far from the walls and grounds of their beloved school! Its too bad that parents and teachers have busted their butts on all the very important (but less visually stunning) 'small beginnings' of the green world, and then in large part have to leave it to Joan (and her generous community partners) to make sure its all still there (and hopefully more grown up?) when the kids and teachers come back in August.
Do you 'veteran' parents feel the same way? The guilt? The total misfortune of not getting to enjoy Dickson gardening again until the fall?!?! =(
At the same time, I also wanted to let it be known that I personally found this past year of volunteering at the garden EXHAUSTING. Not
physically (and during the workdays) but
mentally, and in between them. I know that at least SOME of you feel the same way... I've seen the numbers of parent volunteers for our monthly workdays dwindle. I feel that a large part of it has been the disappointment in us not being able to grow all that we wanted to grow, do what we wanted to do. Many of us have been giving, and giving, and giving, and... its not that we EXPECTED to be given back something... maybe it was rather that we wanted gardening at Dickson to be MORE than it ended up seeming to be -- or at least to have been more physically present (in permanent, 'garden' form) than we've managed to achieve so far.
I know that our fancy new building still running on a temporary Certificate of Occupancy -- even now, at the end of the school year -- can be reasoned to be to blame for a lot of the hiccups. For example, the district's facilities manager, at basically the very last minute possible, told us that it was because of this that we wouldn't be able to follow our
long-stated plan to remove sod and create a demonstration garden for teachers and students next to the pre-K play area. But beyond the whole C.O. thing, and the technicalities it may or may not create, there also were Asheville City Schools higher-ups resistant to the idea of allowing us to truly GARDEN-IFY Dickson. I don't want to put this out there and instantly be understood as trying to antagonize authority -- or 'bite the hand that feeds us' --
but we all need to be prepared to advocate (even fight, if it comes to that) for our right to fully utilize the learning spaces of our children.
All of this could change if we can get ACS brass who are not locked into years of inertia on board with an intensely GREEN vision for our school. For example, our new superintendent, Mrs. Bobby White, recently met with me in person... and I was encouraged by what seemed like a willingness to understand and work on solutions to important issues that school parents identify. This sort of thing is a breath of fresh air, at least in my brief experience over the past few years trying to expand gardening activities at ACS schools.
Please take a moment, if you think you can express yourself well enough, to write Bobby an email encouraging her support as we look to take sustainable, campus-wide gardening to the next level at Dickson next year. Also, please take a minute to write an email to Joan thanking her for persisting in her work this past year, despite the logistical nightmare things have been.
In this extremely trying first year, we should focus on the many small successes that have happened in and outside of the classrooms, instead of the few big disappointments.
I believe that we are going to do better next year, that we're going to BREAK THROUGH, in terms of our visibility on the grounds. We'll help teachers better utilize every last planter we have, as far into (and out of) the frost as we can. We'll have kids experimenting in every inch of earth that we are allowed to free from the grip of sod, and we will let parents and teachers play the biggest roles in deciding exactly what they want to sprout out of the earthly canvases we set up. I believe that we will get our city school district fully on board with letting us create a school teeming with authentic learning experiences that are centered around closely inspecting and honoring the natural world; growing, preparing and enjoying whole foods; and empowering our local community.
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May your summer be calm yet productive... full of playful thoughts and rest, but also sporting the making of plans, the taking of actions, and the satisfaction of success =)
