HAZEL DELL — Over the summer, children from the Clinton and Gloria John Boys & Girls Club enjoyed Wednesday mornings in the Hazel Dell School and Community Garden. WSU Master Gardeners led garden activities including exploring what grows in the garden, parts of plants we eat, bees and honey and seeds we eat. The mornings started with garden tasks, such as spreading tree chips on the paths and weeding. The children ate a healthy snack followed by activities related to the day’s theme.
On the Parts of Plants We Eat day, the children examined plants with a magnifying glass, including celery that had been dipped in food coloring to show how water goes up the plant’s stem to its leaves. Many children were surprised to learn that broccoli and cauliflower are actually the flower part of plants and that many of the foods we call vegetables are fruit, since fruits are the part of a plant that contain seeds such as tomatoes, cucumber, squash.
For 18 years, the Boys & Girls Club Summer Garden Program has introduced children to the wonders of growing our own food and the joy of being outside working in nature.
