The weather was cool and the day filled with excitement. On April 21st 4-H students from Pleasant Hill Academy participated in their first Global Youth Service Day. The project was designed to benefit the local community garden used by the College Hill Gardeners and the school. The audacious project involved over 200 students which culminated in the building of an octagon shaped garden bed and the planting of a bean tepee.
The preschool, kindergarten and first-grade students helped weed the water the garden space in preparation for the spring. The second and third-grade students helped plant seeds and plants in the raised garden beds. Then the fourth, fifth and sixth graders helped cut, design and build an octagon shaped bed to stand as a centerpiece of the garden.
The students at Pleasant Hill Academy, a Cincinnati Public School, are part of an environmental science program which lends itself well to the 4-H projects. Throughout the year, as a part of their typical curriculum, students learn about the natural world.
The project was sponsored by Serve Ohio as part of their initiative to engage more youth in Global Youth Service Day.
It was a pleasure to work with the students as they learned how to (under supervision) use a saw to cut wood and calculate the angles for the octagon bed.
In cooperation with the school, students also planted 7 commemorative trees on the property and engaged in a series of earth related activities designed to provide the students with a stronger connection to the natural world. Students were also given trees to take home and plant on their own.
4-H Agri-Science in the City is looking forward to working on more projects like this with the youth.
Serve Ohio (Ohio Commission on Service and Volunteerism)