In recent years, Marion Cross sixth graders read the inspiring little book, “Seedfolks.” Thisbook is a story of the creation of a community garden and the personal and profound impact it made on so many people’s lives. This year, in conjunction with their classroom reading, students got their hands (and feet) dirty, putting the school garden to bed for the season. As they were pulling out the weeds, they found quite a number of miscellaneous veggies that the earlier harvest had missed. This year their “Seedfolks” reading included a written reflection about how working in the garden reminded them of the book. It also included a community soup made from all the gleanings!
“Last Thursday, I really noticed that gardening is not as easy as it seems, it takes a lot of hard work just to weed, and I can imagine how difficult it would be to have a garden of your own. Seedfolks is a book that teaches you about the ups and downs of gardening as well as life.” “Something was quite satisfying about raking up a bunch of hay and finding the clean, dark earth underneath. I thought that I talked to people I would not normally, like they did in Seedfolks.”
“…She was mostly known for helping out in small ways, like weeding patches of land or buying funnels to pour the rain water. But her little deeds made a big difference on the garden.”
“In Seedfolks, people come together through a garden. When we did it, we all helped each other weed and make the garden better.”
– Lindsay Putnam, Marion Cross School, Norwich, VT