Project Teaches West Phila. Kids About Gardening
An abandoned lot at 53rd and Wyalusing in West Philadelphia was turned into an urban garden this summer by a group of local kids, with the help of an urban "greening" organization.
KYW's Hadas Kuznits was there as the kids who worked on the garden harvested it.
Qudair McCrea, 13, says that learning how to garden this summer was an eye-opening experience:
"The first time I pulled food out of the ground I was thinking, like, what is this? I didn't know what anything was."
(Kuznits:) "Was it strange to pull stuff from the dirt?"
(McCrea:) "It was. I was, like, what's this? I pulled out potatoes and I didn't even know what they were!"
Skip Weiner is executive director of the Urban Tree Connection:
"The first time we start germinating seeds and watching things grow out of the dirt, (imitating kids:) 'Ooh, ooh, I'm not eating food that's grown in that dirt!' That's a normal kind of response."
(Kuznits:) "All vegetables..."
(Weiner:) "...come from the ground! Yeah, well, when you're living in an urban environment and you don't see that, that's like major for a child to learn that that's where food comes from."
What did they harvest?
(McCrea:) "Cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, squash, bell peppers, banana peppers, and cantaloupe."
(Photos by KYW's Hadas Kuznits)
