New Trees Planted

by Ava Kerns at ECH

 

Hello, my name is Ava Kerns and I just planted 9 trees in our Community for my Girl Scout Award. I wanted to do a farm to table project, which is where we grow our food and then use it to eat. For many of you growing your own food was a way of life, and my family has always had a big garden and we grow our own food, but many kids my age no longer seem to understand where their food comes from. Many just think we go to a grocery store to buy food. I thought that planting fruit trees would be a great way for all of the residents to enjoy the beauty and shade of the trees, along with providing a food source. I should mention that our family is also tree farmers, so we love to plant LOTS trees and watch them grow. I planted 2 pear and 2 apple trees for the residents to enjoy and use in the future. I am also doing this same project at our school for the students where I planted 3 apple and 2 pear trees. For my project I collaborated with our school, the Convalescent Home, and our Edgewood Trees Forever Committee. I recruited volunteer teams with our Edgewood Girl Scouts, and Ed-Co FFA members. They helped plant and mulch the trees. Once they start to grow and produce fruit, the fruit can be harvest, ate fresh or made into pie or whatever people at the Convalescent Home would like to make. With the school kids it can be used likewise and also to teach them about farm to table concept and used in the Family Consumer Science cooking classes. It took some time to plan and coordinate all the different groups I was working with, but it all worked out. The next couple of years will require patience as we all have to wait a couple of years to see the trees grow and produce fruit. It will be an ongoing project and the Ed-Co Horticulture and Ag classes will help take care of the trees. It is my sincere hope that my Girl Scout Gold project will provide both a food source and learning tool for many years to come, along with all the beauty and shade the trees will add to our community. I truly hope the Residents will enjoy watching the changing seasons of the trees and they grow and eventually produce fruit. Thank you for partnering with me on my project.