A few months ago I wrote about an introduction to Hudson County Commissioner Anthony L. Romano and how through our conversation about my work in the community and the current project I'm developing with a group of people from around the world, "Education = Power In Choice (EPIC): Empowering Communities Through Food System Education" I was introduced to some of the wonderful people working within the Hudson Country Department of Health and Human Services and their network of outreach for alleviating, addressing and overcoming food insecurity. Some of the people I was introduced to work with Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and I wrote an update about that wonderful meeting a few weeks ago. Continuing on from that I was then introduced to the Garden Director for the 4-H Family Learning Garden in Lincoln Park, and I was blessed and honored to attend a family learning event there this past week.
Gardening is near and dear to my heart, and so much of the work that I have done in the community has focused around a garden in some way or another. I started a community garden in NYCHA Housing when I was the Director of an after school program on Manhattan's Lower East Side, and that led to my being introduced to NYC Cooperative Extension where I taught community nutrition education, many times bringing gardening programs and community gardens into the educational model and bringing guests of the programs out into the neighborhood gardens whenever possible. Learning about where food comes from is such an important empowerment tool, and helping people to understand that they can grow their own food is life giving and inspiring in so many ways. Spending time in the garden is healthy for mind, body and spirit, and having access to healthy food in a healthy environment can affect every aspect of well being for the better.
The afternoon I spent in the 4-H Family Learning Garden was transformative for me, reminding me of my own history and why I do the work that I do and why I develop the programs and projects I develop. Seeing the families and adults and children together in the garden is such a beautiful experience, and the garden itself is so full of goodness that every moment feels like you're in another and more beautiful place than you were when you walked in.
I was given a gift that day of a Holy Basil plant, and it's scenting my home and YES Gallery now because it was so big that I was able to divide it into two planters. The plant itself is beautiful to see and to smell and to use in food and tisanes, and the history it has of where it came from and that beautiful visit to the 4-H Family Learning Garden in that lovely park brings memories of a beautiful afternoon with beautiful people in the community every time the scent wafts through the air.
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