WORKING WITH YOUTH: STACIE B.

Working for the Regional Environmental Council (REC) as the YouthGROW coordinator, Stacie sees the value in gardening as an active way to experience nature and provide opportunities for youth. Through the program, 14 to 18 year-olds maintain REC’s urban farms, learn about food justice, and develop leadership skills. The Main South Park, also known as the Oread Street Farm, is one of the REC sites located within the city, and is hosted on private property. It contains many established trees, but the teens also cultivate kale, spinach, peppers, eggplants, strawberries, lettuce, and grains on the site. They contribute a portion of their harvest to REC’s Mobile Farmers Market, which assures that people get access to healthy affordable food by scheduling stops in food-insecure areas.

The Worcester Tree Initiative (WTI) has been helpful to YouthGROW by assisting with plantings, providing trees, and facilitating workshops. A pruning workshop is currently being planned for the spring.

Oread Street Farm

The Oread Street Farm was formally established in 2003 with the support of State funding after a collective effort between youth and community members created an informal garden as protest against people throwing garbage in a vacant lot.

YouthGROW's involvement in the site has remained strong since. It has become a highly competitive, year-round program that offers additional leadership opportunities for returning teens.

The involvement of youth, residents, and WTI is an example of how gardens and green spaces are “connectors” for community members to meet and work together. While changes in the environment can sometimes appear quite gradual, Stacie recalls the immediate positivity and pleasure that comes from working collaboratively in the farms and gardens. The work done by the REC generates curiosity and intrigue from neighboring residents who jump in to lend a hand. It is their current goal to develop stronger partnerships to protect the gardens they currently own or work in, and also to build new ones. Moreover, the YouthGROW program continues to cultivate opportunities for underserved youth and to promote green in urban areas.

visit www.recworcester.org/ for more information and ways to get involved.

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