Maverick Boys & Girls Club head gardener Rebekah Howard (left) shows Janessa Wade, Alissa Spangler, Kersten Reed and Sofia Lobatos the new growth on a plant in the community garden.
Natural Curiosity
Groups of children march out of the big, metal front doors excited for their daily tasks. Buckets are filled with water and mulch, compost is overturned and vegetable plants are checked for ripeness by gardeners eager to see new growth.
Members of the Maverick Boys & Girls Club tend to rows of growing tomatoes, peppers, melons and cucumbers every day. In its inaugural year, the community garden at the Maverick Boys & Girls Club produced vegetables for the families of Maverick’s members, and has been replanted for a second year.
“It’s a different kind of activity to be involved in,” executive director Vic Allcorn says. “These kids are naturally curious. They wonder about where things come from and I think it appeals to that natural curiosity that those kids have.”
In collaboration between the High Plains Institute for Applied Ecology and the Maverick Club, the garden was originally established to teach children where food comes from, Vic says.
“It was a pretty feeble try at first, trying to get all the pieces together,” Vic admits. “I had the idea and High Plains had the experience. It was just a matter of getting the pieces to fit.”
The 50 by 50 feet garden was planted using lasagna-style gardening, a system where the roots for the plants are all above ground, using layers of biodegradable material and soil to keep moisture at the roots, head gardener Rebekah Howard says.
“The kids even helped lay the cardboard and woodchips and newspaper before we all planted the plants,” Rebekah explains.
Rebekah says she assigns tasks each day for the kids in the garden and is available for the students to ask questions about how the vegetables are growing.
“Some of the kids don’t have any experience with gardening, and it’s an exciting new concept for them,” Rebekah describes. “As am amateur gardener, I was eager to learn, too. It’s all a learning process.”
When the produce is ripe, Rebekah helps the students pick the vegetables and divides it between the families of the club. All of the plants currently growing in the garden were donated from local stores for the Club’s use, Vic says.
“These kids needed a place where they have a therapeutic atmosphere to work out some of the issues they may face,” Vic explains. “And when the vegetables start coming up, they can hardly wait until it gets ripe to pick it.”
The club offers children with parents who work during the day a safe place to be, Vic says. The Maverick Club provides activities for the students such as the garden, arts, sports and recreation and educational programs, according to the Club’s website.
“We don’t have any plans to expand the garden as of right now,” Vic says. “Our philosophy is the kids first, so as long as the garden is big enough for them to learn about plants and nature, then that’s good enough for us.”
For more information, visit maverickclub.org
by Kalani Gordon
A junior at UNT, Kalani is working toward a photojournalism degree. Kalani has been a Canyon resident for 18 years and in her spare time rock climbs and plays soccer.Key Coverage
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