Monday, June 10, 2024 Welcome Elementary CFE Students

The Orchard Garden welcomed seven new Community Field Experience students from various elementary cohorts. 

We spent the morning observing the space, and how much the garden has grown over the last two months. Sweet peas are almost ready to eat, raspberries are forming, the apple trees are producing fruit, comfrey has grown tall and is housing many bees, and milk thistle has sprouted throughout the garden.  As we were looking at hummingbirds with bright red heads chasing one another, an eagle swooped down from the sky and landed close to us. It rested for only a moment and then flew back up into the sky. It must have been looking for some field mice. It was a magical sight. Some say that seeing an eagle is a symbol of being courageous to try something new, or to find a work life balance. The first day of the CFE felt like this- a mix of learning and resting in nature. There was more strenuous work to be done.. but it was meditative. Please keep reading to find out more.

Next, we moved our bodies with a warmup lead by Susan, and then grabbed color palettes to match them to nature. We commented on how the green colors of the garden are not as green as we hoped or expected. The green hues of the garden have a touch of yellow or orange. We found that once we started looking, many colors seemed to appear. It was wonderful to take time in the day to just notice and be in the garden purposefully. 

During our break, Madi noticed that some stink bugs had taken up residence on one of the currant bushes! They didn’t seem to be harming the plant in any way, so we decided to otherwise pay them any mind. I (Danielle) am proud of this picture I took of this little guy.

We ended the day spending a couple of hours of weeding the Garden. Our focus today was on the thistle, buttercups, and wild grasses that were choking the garlic and various other plants in the area. It was so satisfying to pull up the thistle since its singular root came up so easily! The buttercup, on the other hand, did not give up without a fight - we were amazed by just how deep and fine their root systems were. The eight of us cleared out a fair bit of the Garden in about three hours!

At some point during our process, we all naturally grew quiet. It was quite a meditative and communal experience… except for the fact that most of us were suffering from seasonal allergies. Frequent breaks, plenty of water, and antihistamines were our best friends today. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings us at Steveston!

Until we post again!

“The Allergy Brigade”

Written by Sarah and Danielle