Children learn firsthand about gardening

A handful of aspiring growers turned out to try their hands at gardening Saturday morning at the Red Star Community Garden.

More than a dozen children and their parents planted summer squash and learned more about where food comes from.

Cape Marketeers Club committee chairwoman Jaime Mayfield explained the importance of understanding nutrition and sustainability.

"It's to get them thinking about produce, fruits and vegetables," she said. "I thought it was a great way to get science into the conversation for these kids."

Past programs include how to extract DNA from a strawberry and learning how much energy it takes to burn a calorie. While they're designed to contextualize healthy eating habits and green living, membership suggests the programs are fun, as well. The Cape Marketeers Club has more than 200 local children signed up for various programs, Mayfield said.

"It's incredible," she said. "The first year we only had five dates, but now we have programs every second and fourth Saturday, May through August. We have some very dedicated kids."

Cape Girardeau's community gardens were started in 2003 by master gardener and community garden coordinator Robert Harris Jr., who said the original idea was to benefit local children.

"It was something that just materialized. It wasn't part of some national plan or anything; it just came together," he said. "We have a real problem with childhood obesity. That bothers me. But if kids can learn these things at a young age, they can have better eating habits later on in life."

Now there are three: one on South Fountain Street, another in Washington Park. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Monday to open a fourth, on South West End Boulevard.

He says the Cape Girardeau community, whose downtown farmers market already is popular, has played a crucial role in growing the project.

"I'm just an activist, I guess," he said. "I just started something and people got involved with it."

People such as Emily Scifers, co-owner of the Laughing Stalk and community garden programming director, who said it's encouraging to see children developing not only a summer squash, but the patience and foresight that goes into gardening.

"It takes a bit of work, but it can be really rewarding," she said. "I would love it if the kids can come back and visit their plants, be able to see them put on fruit. That's amazing."

Jamie Koehler, master gardener and conservationist, was tasked with explaining the role of pollinators during Saturday's event.

"We just wanted to connect kids to gardening and to where their food comes from," she said. "They think it just appears on the table. They don't ever think about gardening."

As part of the program, children also were given tokens to spend at the farmers market on fresh produce, Mayfield said.

"It gives them a chance to maybe ask questions to the farmer," she said. "It puts the purchasing power in their hands."

She also said anyone interested in gardening or the Marketeers can contact them via their Facebook page.

tgraef@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1223 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

35 S. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.