Teaching through tomatoes

The Southeast Missouri Climate Protection Initiative is working to help the environment; the Family Resource Center in Cape Girardeau is doing the same with area children. Tuesday the two collaborated to teach children about helping the environment through planting tomatoes.

"We are doing this because we want to focus on growing food locally and purchasing food locally," said the environmental organization's Mary Maginel, 52, of Cape Girardeau. "Ideally, we would like to see Cape Girardeau build more community gardens."

Maginel gathered a group of three children at the center, dug holes and planted 10 tomato plants donated to the group. The Family Resource Center's manager, Denise Lincoln, 51, said these kinds of projects keep children out of trouble.

"We're trying to give kids lots of things to do over the summer," Lincoln said. "We want their hands to be busy, we want them into projects that last more than one day, and obviously growing plants is kind of a summerlong project that takes some tender care."

The Climate Protection Initiative, led by Dr. Alan Journet, a professor at Southeast Missouri State University, is working to help people in the area reduce their carbon dioxide effects, or "footprint," on the environment. Journet said working with the Family Resource Center is just one of several projects the group is participating in.

"We have several working groups addressing different issues," said Journet, 61, of Cape Girardeau. "The three major groups we have are the food localization group, which is this one, another that is exploring ways in which folks who either own or rent their homes can do things to reduce their footprint there, and the third group is looking at how people can change their driving patterns."

Regardless of the reason, 16-year-old Perri Harrell, 15-year-old Takeesha Sessoms and 11-year-old Khadijah Miller said they enjoyed getting a chance to plant tomatoes and will try to be involved in the daily care of the plants.

"It's good for kids in the community to get involved with this stuff," Khadijah said. "It's fun, and I'm going to try to help with them."

Lincoln said the resource center, which also is in the midst of a project turning church pews into benches, has more programs like this planned.

"We're trying to get outside more this year and do more things that will get the neighborhood to wonder what's going on over here," Lincoln said. "For the summer we'll be out as long as we can stand the heat, but our plan is for something to always be going on in here."

Mary Maginel forced a bamboo stake into the ground as Takeesha Sessoms, 15, filled in more soil around a tomato plant. (AARON EISENHAUER ~aeisenhauer@semissourian.com)

The resource center at the corner of South Sprigg and Hickory streets has a children's group that meets every Tuesday evening. Lincoln said that may be expanded to Thursday due to demand for the center's programs.

jsamons@semissourian.com

Mary Maginel dug a hole for another tomato plant as Khadijah Miller, 11, Perri Harrell, 16, and Takeesha Sessoms, 15, packed in dirt around others. (AARON EISENHAUER ~aeisenhauer@semissourian.com)

335-6611, extension 245