OG Opening Ceremony at Jin Cai Middle School

Organic Garden Opening Ceremony at Jin Cai Middle School

Rebecca Wen

On October 14^th, the Roots & Shoots staff joined with students and AIA sponsors at Jin Cai Middle School for the greatly anticipated opening ceremony of the school’s organic garden! In just over an hour, the students, AIA volunteers, and Roots & Shoots staff were able to mix the soil, plant seeds, water the seeds, and fence in the garden perimeters. The group was well organized and worked together to finish all the tasks.

After listening to speeches by AIA representative Sophie and the teacher leading the program at Jin Cai Middle School, everyone participated in a series of warm-up exercises before beginning the hard work. Then, students and volunteers were divided into five groups, each overlooking the five parts of the garden that would be planted with radishes, chives, lettuce, parsley, and Chinese lettuce respectively.  First, organic soil rich in nutrients was mixed with the soil in the garden plots. This was an important foundational step as the seeds would not be able to flourish if there were not enough nutrients in the soil. Next, students and volunteers planted the seeds by sprinkling them over the soil in neat lines. Since the seeds were small and did not need to be covered by much soil, the task was fairly simple and quick. Watering came next, and was completed quickly as well. Lastly, the most time-consuming task was hammering in the fence around the perimeter of the garden. AIA volunteers used hammers while students held the fence in place. All of these tasks were completed successfully thanks to the organization of the program and the great cooperation from its participants.

As the vegetables in the organic garden grow over the year, students at Jin Cai Middle School and AIA volunteer will also grow in their knowledge about organic farming methods, the impact of consumer food choices, and the importance of sustainability!