This week at Dig It, we’ve been focused on reaching out and building new skills. Wednesday was our first day of power tools training and construction! Youth got a great start building many of the parts we need for the raised beds we’ll be awarding to gardens in the fall. We were delighted to work with Chef Josh on Wednesday as well, making a delicious watermelon salad and potato bacon braise with tons of veggies from Bell Garden.
Thursday we divided into two groups, learning about cover cropping at Clay Elementary and about composting at Cote Brilliante Elementary as we worked in their gardens, getting them in shape for Saturday’s garden tour. We got a ton of work done despite the sweltering heat. At one point we took a break in the shade to practice a tool called the Elevator Speech.
Friday we took our awesome ‘space van’ with the whole crew inside over to 3 Rivers Community Farm in Elsah, IL. It’s an amazing 300-member CSA farm run by Amy Cloud and Segue Lara (full disclosure, Carolyn used to work there before joining Gateway Greening!). We planted rows and rows of tomatoes and harvested peas, while learning about the huge differences between community gardening and farming for market.
Finally, on Saturday, the Dig It crew helped us host a Youth Garden Tour of 5 school gardens in North City. We had a wonderful time and got a lot of work done!