Planting Seeds“Happy Spring”
I’ve always loved spring: warmer weather after months of freezing temperatures, flowers blooming, Easter celebrations with my family, bunnies, and the end of the school year. My favorite flowers are snapdragons, daffodils, and tulips, and I love cherry blossom trees after attending undergrad in Washington, D.C.
Spring is a busy time for our Ag in the Classroom Program. We have two Ag Days coming up, one April 3 at The Children’s Farm in Palos Park, and one April 17 at Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview. During our Ag Day events, third grade students have the opportunity to take a field trip to a working farm, rotating through stations to learn about crops and livestock. It’s also the perfect time of the year to see newborn baby farm animals, including piglets and chicks. It will make for cute photos! If you are interested in volunteering to help with our Ag Day events, please email me at [email protected].
Our AITC program will also host library programs about bees and honey at Morton Grove Public Library on April 24 and at Glenview Public Library on April 30. The programs are free and open to the public, but registration is required on the libraries’ websites in advance.
I am looking forward to the topics of our upcoming programs and events. It feels nice to be thinking about things growing, seeds germinating, and insects pollinating flowers.
This spring, I will complete my volunteer hours to become a University of Illinois Master Gardener for Cook County South. I completed my coursework last year, and I have been earning volunteer programs by helping at a local garden and teaching about worm composting at libraries. I have also been participating in a three-part Zoom workshop about community and school gardens. My hope is that once I am a Master Gardener, I can help at these gardens while teaching about agriculture, soil science, and sustainability at the same time.
I am also looking forward to doing more planting and gardening at home. I have always loved nature and gardens, and I plan on rolling up my sleeves and getting my hands a little dirty this spring. It might be a little early to start planting outside, but I plan on starting seeds inside at the end of March. If I don’t plant seeds now, I won’t have flowers and produce later! Happy spring – and happy start of the growing season!