CEDAR Aboriginal Youth Camp

Our largest group by far- nearly 70 people (kids and adults) joined us in the garden today for an afternoon of work, play, and eating.  Children planted native plants (including Labrador tea, huckleberries, and nodding onion), began construction on a raven scarecrow, harvested produce and made herb dip & lemon/cucumber/mint water to share, and painted signs for the garden.

I handed over my camera to the kids with the instructions "take pictures of your work".  The following photos and quotes are all from the kids.

"Can we grow pineapples in this garden?"

"My grandma cans peaches and apricots."

"Last year we made huckleberry jam."

"It's that pizza smell!" (oregano)

"My wish is that the garden had a huge strawberry as huge as our circle."

"I picked four peas."  

"I learned that you can eat lavender."

"My wish is that the garden could have a huge cedar tree in the middle."

"How do you spell rosemary?"

"Here, you can have a turn."

"Can I take some home for my mom?"

"I learned that when you're planting something you have to water it first."

"I learned that plants have to be planted first and then they can grow."

"My wish is that more kids could come back to the garden and do what we did."

Yes, I have a good camera- but these photos are amazing, aren't they?  I smiled to myself watching them carefully put the strap over their head, thoughtfully composing their shots ("get your hands in there so it looks like we're working...").  One child wrote out our entire herb dip recipe in careful script.  Of course there was also tree climbing and chasing and lots of "listen up!"- a learning experience for all involved, and looking forward to future partnerships of this kind.