Hello. My name is Diamond Tyler. I am 17 years old and I will be a senior this coming August at Clyde C. Miller Career Academy. My favorite vegetable is broccoli. To be completely honest I am a contradiction to myself. I like to be safe but I always take risks, but that’s a different story. Let me tell you about this week’s journey.
On Wednesday, the Dig It crew and myself worked with Dean, who helps us with construction, on making compost bins. While working with Dean we use tools like drills, handsaws, clamps, tape measurers, and a whole bunch of wood and screws. The first time construction was brought to us this summer I honestly thought that I was going to hate it, but it turned out to be not so bad. It’s a great stress reliever. After all the hard work was done, we ate food that was prepared by two chefs and three Dig It crew members. We ate pork tenderloin, garlic mash potatoes, collard greens with chopped up bacon, onions, squash, and a lemon tart pastry for dessert. This was one of the best meals so far. When I ate this meal, it felt like home. Even though I didn’t eat the onions and squash because I’m not a fan of those vegetables, I know they had to be tasty
On Thursday, the Dig It crew split off into groups. I was in the red group this week, along with Myra, Emmanuel, and Michael. We were working with young girls that are in an organization called “Girls Inc.” We helped them weed their raised beds, play games, and read books. Many of them said they would like to be farmers after that experience. After, we went to Crown Center, which is a Senior Living building. This time we didn’t work with Happy Planters, a group of seniors who help with the raised beds. While we were there, we harvested carrots, basil, lemon basil, collard greens, peppers, beets, and cabbage. There was so much cabbage and they were so big that the scissors broke. We were in so much shock, it was hilarious. After that, we distributed what we harvested into 12 bags for the Happy Planters. We gave the remaining produce to the café within their building. The lady we gave it to was so excited that we brought it to her, she lit up and that put a smile on my face. It was an amazing feeling.
This week so far has been amazing. It has been so helpful and beneficial in so many ways. I was able to relieve stress while gaining more knowledge and experience. Working with Dig It has been phenomenal and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.