By: Anna Gilbert-Muhammed, Food Access Director

As the summer approaches and school comes to an end, the youth from Tapley Garden found time in the last few weeks to bond with the Garden Club from Sullivan Middle School in Holyoke.

Sullivan Middle school began their garden club in January 2024, and their garden plots are held at the Beaudoin Village Housing Project, part of the Holyoke Housing Authority. The Garden Club is led by Angela DeSouza, an Ethinostudies doctorate candidate at UMASS Amherst and instructor at Sullivan Middle School. Jason Comcowich, Development Director for Nuestras Raices also joined the trip with the garden team. Jason and Nuestras Raices setup the initial partnership with NOFA/Mass and Sullivan Middle School. Many of the sessions features soil health with NOFA/Mass’s Food Access Team and features working with the microbiometer, basic microbe identification under the microscope, and a fieldtrip
to Tapley Garden in Springfield.

During the Sullivan field trip to Tapley Garden, some of the experienced Youth Agricultural Scientists from the Tapley Garden Project provided a garden tour and planting demonstration for the Garden Club Members. Mateo Cintron and Agnes Frias, discussed the importance of interplanting for plant biodiversity and natural pest management, mulching for soil health and gave a plant identification lesson. Mateo is a Senior at Central High School in Springfield, MA has participated in the garden for 2 years. Agnes Frias is a NOFA/Mass Intern and one of the longest serving team members for the garden. Both have given many demonstrations with NOFA/Mass staff on the Tapley garden and the activities that take place there.

At the end of the fieldtrip, all of the members were given the chance to plant peppers and tomatoes in some of the garden beds.

During the summer, there will be more opportunities for both groups to come together at the Sullivan teaching garden and the Tapley Garden.

For more information concerning the Tapley Garden Project and other Food Access Programming, sponsored by MDAR, please contact the Food Access Team: [email protected]

For more information concerning programming at Nuestras Raices please contact them on their website: https://nuestras-raices.org/