How can it already be the last week of Dig It?! We had a great field trip to Earthdance Farms with a whole bunch of different teen farm groups last Wednesday. 
We harvested cherry tomatoes, husk cherries, and tomatillos– summer weather is here at last! It was Emmanuel’s first time tasting a cherry tomato:
We also worked in Clay Elementary’s garden, and did a Medicinal Herbs workshop. We made an all-purpose rosemary olive oil balm and learned about herbs that can help with bites and burns, as well as cold and flu.
On Friday, we spend the whole day preparing for our end-of-summer Family Night. We cooked an enormous meal with 3 different chefs– roast chicken with bacon, corn, and mashed potatoes, kale salad, squash and onions, and peach pie. We made flower bouquets and practiced speeches. Despite the sticky, hot weather, we had a great turnout and everyone enjoyed themselves.
It’s been a transformational summer. One of the great parts about this program is that we use a tool called Straight Talk, which creates space for honest dialogue between crew members and staff about what we’re doing well and how we could grow. This creates confidence– crew know exactly what they already rock at– and it gives us all an opportunity to work on our challenges. Everyone has challenges. What matters most is that we’re open about them and willing to work to improve them. Our crew has become more mature, more hardworking, more confident, and more collaborative in just 8 weeks. I’m so excited to imagine the possibilities for Dig It in the future.