When community-minded people work together, good things grow. That’s true at the South Oakland YMCA, where a partnership between the Y and the Junior League of Birmingham has created a garden on a formerly empty patch of land next to the Y’s parking lot.
The Junior League focuses its volunteer and philanthropic efforts on promoting a healthy lifestyle for children, says Abigail Sigal, community programs coordinator for the Junior League of Birmingham and a board member for the South Oakland YMCA. She wrote a grant to Kashi Real, which was funded. At the same time, a member of the Junior League founded Little Green Gardeners, which places community gardens in schools and other places where kids can use them in their learning.
Abigail approached the Y last year about starting the garden, and six raised beds were installed last fall. “We knew the mission and vision of the Y is very similar to the Junior League and to Little Green Gardeners,” she says. “There is a large camp program here where we could bring in that educational component of how food grows and where it come from.”
On Saturday, the community was invited to a healthy families event where kids could help plant the garden, paint the white picket fence around it, plant a seed to take home, play field games, practice yoga, and sample healthy snacks like a delicious green smoothie.
Mom Chris Johnston was there with her two daughters, Madeline, 8 and Caroline, 5. Her daughters helped plant the garden beds and paint the fence, and will be attending the day camp in the summer. “We have a vegetable garden at home, and I think it’s important for them to know where their food comes from,” she says.
The new member class of the Junior League organized the event. Every year, the League recruits members over the summer (this year’s open houses are 6-8 p.m. June 26 and Aug. 13 at the League’s headquarters at 460 N. Old Woodward in Birmingham). New members are assigned to work on a project, either raising funds or planning the event. They brought in sponsors like Whole Foods and organized the event for families.
Children in the Y’s summer day camp program will be working in the garden this fall, says YMCA branch executive director Kyle Anderson. “They have a curriculum where they will get to see how the plants grow, when to harvest them, and can take them home to eat.” The Y’s social responsibility missions will also come into play, he says, because campers will research food banks or senior centers that would welcome the produce they grow. And he’s welcoming the chance to partner with the Junior League. “It’s two great organizations working together,” he says.
“I think, like with anything in life, when they plant the seed and see it grow, they can take ownership of that and make connections to all kind of educational things,” Abigail says. “We are so happy that it is finally coming to light. This has been a vision of mine for a long time.”