In Praise of Volunteers

Over the course of every week, about fifty – fifty! – different people come to the Edible Schoolyard to help in the garden and the kitchen.  We rely on these volunteers for essential support in many forms – they help lower our adult-to-student ratio so that we can safely and effectively engage our students in experiential learning, they act as role models and points of connection for our diverse student body, and they demonstrate to students the caring and investment of the greater community.  And that’s just during class!  Before and after class, our volunteers are hard at work, assisting staff with the tasks, both large and small, of keeping our garden and kitchen running smoothly.  Come by any day before class and you would see volunteers in the garden, weeding a bed, volunteers in the kitchen, folding laundry and putting away dishes, even volunteers taking out the compost and sweeping the front walkway.

And who are these volunteers?  They are university students, working adults, retirees, and people transitioning between jobs; they are parents to middle school students, infants, and grown children; they care for the elderly, bountiful rooftop gardens, or a menagerie of animals; they are chefs, landscape designers, nutritionists, teachers, professionals, writers, entrepreneurs and trying-to-figure-it-outs.  Universally, our volunteers are passionate about food and engaging with young people. Over the years, we have been fortunate to meet many, many wonderful people who were volunteers at the Edible Schoolyard.  A few have been with us, year in and year out, since the program began, sixteen years ago.  More commonly, a volunteer will spend a year or two coming to the kitchen or garden every week to work with students and help keep things shipshape, and then he or she will move on.  Volunteers have shared their favorite recipes, seeds from beloved garden plants, ideas for curriculum development, and stories of students opening up to them in touching, surprising ways.  For all the energy, passion, and dedication they bring to the Edible Schoolyard, our volunteers have our unending gratitude.

By Winslow Carroll

Griselda (wearing glasses) is a kitchen volunteer extraordinaire -- students, teachers and staff all love her

Ian (wearing olive green) has been making the garden a friendlier, more beautiful place for many years

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Helen and Beebo have been with us from the beginning -- we can't imagine the Edible Schoolyard without them