Students working at the Fairview Elementary Community Garden are cultivating a sense of self-worth and sprouting healthier meals for their families at home.
The garden, which was started 10 years ago with the help of Denver Urban Gardens, provides an oasis in the middle of the food desert that is Sun Valley.
The neighborhood is one of the poorest in Denver. In the 2010-11 school year, 92 percent of the children attending Fairview Elementary School qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, which is frequently used as a measure of poverty.
Fifth-grade students start learning about nutrition in the classroom, and they grow seedlings inside before planting them in the garden.
Jirah Lawrence, 11, has worked the garden two years in a row. Like many other students, she wants to stay rooted in the garden long after she moves on to middle school.
“It makes me feel peaceful,” Jirah said. “It’s really fun, and I want to keep doing it.”
When she started working the garden, she had no idea what an impact it might have.
“The garden has made changes in my family,” she said.
Jirah’s mother comes and helps in the garden, and her grandmother has started taking seeds to plant at home to grow in her own garden.
But not all the seeds are given for free.
DUG education and community-empowerment coordinator Judy Elliott teaches the kids how to make seed tapes and balls and other products to sell at their weekly garden stand and at the larger youth farmers markets in the fall.
All the money raised at the markets is put directly back into the garden.
Elliott also teaches the basics of gardening and said she loves composting with kids because it gives them an opportunity to express themselves.
“It’s turning trash into treasures and developing a sense of ownership,” she said.
She said she likes any activity that will engage all of the kids’ senses.
“We use the garden as a way to clue into their strengths and assets,” Elliott said.
Rider Spangler, who is headed into 11th grade this fall, has worked at the garden for four years.
“I feel like the garden is a part of me,” he said. “I love it.”
Marcelino Vigil-Chavez, 10, said he loves planting and harvesting vegetables from the garden.
“The gardens is important to help the community with food,” he said. “And once you grow it, you can sell it for cheap, and it’s fun.”
Caitlin Gibbons: 303-954-1638 or cgibbons@denverpost.com
