Let Us Grow (and we did!)

What a delight the last two weeks has been!! Suzi and I were fortunate enough to work with some very special youth for our first ever summer garden camp in Koshland Park called Let Us Grow! Our days were filled with laughter from start to finish.

Let Us Grow! was positive in so many ways. We grew sunflowers seeds, formed new friendships, learned how to prepare garden fresh food, and discovered a sense of place. The camp focused on gardening, and thus food and nutrition, arts and crafts, and community. Two weeks flew by, but by the end we all appreciated the garden and the overwhelming amount of life it has to offer; now newly decorated with disco balls, mylar flags, beautifully painted signs, sunflower seeds, new plants, and SO MUCH LOVE!!

Some of the highlights from Let Us Grow were the field trips we planned, not your normal, go to a museum field trip. Rather, the field trips complimented the goals of the camp and, therefore, the trips revolved around fresh, delicious, healthy FOOD. Our first trip was to the farmer's market at Civic Center, also stopping and playing at all the beautiful parks on the way and way home.

Here we are getting our lunches ready to go. Once at the farmer's market we meet the famers and tasted their many scrumptious fruits, including tayberries, strawberries, plums, peaches, nectarines, and even some savory olives.

Together we also visited RNM in Lower Haight. WHAT A TREAT!!! Nik was kind enough to come and spend a day with us in the garden and the following week we walked down Haight street to RNM. He let all the kids make their own fresh pizza with the topping(s) of their choice. Then, after saying our thanks, we sat together at our formal dining room table with fresh flowers sprinkled all over it and dined on fresh garden salad and homemade pizzas. YUM!


Millennium, referred to as the fancy vegan restaurant, was another very special treat. After teaching the kids about vegan food, we bussed downtown. Chef, Eric Tucker, greeted us and gave us a private tour throughout the restaurant where we learned about the restaurant decor and how it comes from reused products like seat belts or old feed sacks. Moving on we visited the kitchen downstairs, meet some of the staff, checked out the fresh veggies and fruit in the frig, and then picked out some fresh veggies and fruit to make our lunch. Together we tossed a fresh salad of mixed lettuce with peaches, cucumbers, tomatoes, with a sweet peach vinegarette. For our main, Eric, created a divine pasta dish adding chick peas for protein and more fresh vegetables that everyone gobbled up. For dessert, everyone's favorite, the pastry chef's were kind enough to make both vegan chocolate chip and ginger cookies. Triple Yum!!!


We experienced and learned so much in only two weeks.
The children could name all their favorite flowers, herbs, fruits, and veggies by name, and tell the difference between a collard and broccoli leaf - not a easy task. To the left is our favorite flower - Buddleia, commonly known as Butterfly Bush for obvious reasons!

Special thanks goes to the butterflies, sow bugs, red worms and all the other invertabrates who make the garden grow. We couldn't have done it without you. And equally as important, I would also like to appreciate EVERYONE else who made LET US GROW! a HUGE success. We thank you for your donations and time. We are grateful that you are so invested in our community. Most importantly, thank you to the sun and Earth, for which we are all eternally grateful and for giving us the most beautiful summer I have ever experienced in San Francisco!!. Peas and Love, Rebecca

To see all the fun we had check out the rest of the pictures here.