SOWING NEW SKILLS

Students at the Alexander Center for Education find their green thumbs with a summer course.

It was a humid, sun-streaked day in the middle of June, but that didn’t stop the Alexander Center for Education’s Adult Basic Education (ABE) students from getting outside!

This is the first semester ACE’s BIO112 students experienced the handson work of creating, planning, and planting a garden. The course instructor, Kristin Smith, was excited about this collaborative campus-wide project with her students and the ABE students.

“Our garden was placed in April,” Smith said. “This is part of the BIO-112 course. The students knew that our ABE students would provide assistance throughout the summer,” she said, so they designed the garden and to make it accessible for everyone.

BIO-112 students chose which potted plants to purchase, how far apart to place them, and also considered elements such as nitrogen cycles and pest control. Landscaping fabric was added to limit weed growth, and flowers were incorporated for natural pollination. “They (the BIO-112 students) would be so excited to see where it is now!” Smith said.

One student, Brittany, was eager to share her love for gardening and her passion for tending to plants. She has worked in the garden all summer and is on track to graduate. “I love the flowers,” Brittany states. “They remind me of my grandmother, who passed away in 2015.” She recalls times that her grandmother taught her how to grow flowers in her own home. In the field, Brittany’s favorite tasks include watering the plants – and she is proud to claim her position as the class’s weedpicker.

Alyssa has also worked in the garden all summer, and she loves everything except when it comes to those humid, muggy mornings! But that’s why the students use the water hose and arrive to class early, at 9:15 a.m. “I enjoy that our teachers are always there for us,” she says. She especially loves harvesting the vegetables and receiving help from teachers in packaging them to take home.

Students remarked at how friendly their classmates were, too. Seth comes in every day to water and harvest his favorite vegetables, cucumbers. He has made quite a few friends during his time in the program. cucumbers, and squash. They also have the opportunity to harvest four different varieties of tomato: Roma, Better Boy, Cherokee Purple, and Cherry.

Another student, Alicia, likes to harvest squash and zucchini. She takes the vegetables home and cooks them to have fresh summer meals in her own kitchen. “I really enjoy watering the plants,” she tells me as she sprays water across foliage. “My favorite flower is a rose. A red rose.” When inside the classroom, her favorite subjects are math and science. She has been part of the program for one year, and has one more left to go before graduation.

This summer, ABE students learned the difference between zucchini,

“Our students have ownership of this garden,” said Dr. Donna Ross, Director of Instruction at Alexander Center. “This is their garden, and they have to take care of it.”

Lora Pulliam, director of the ABE program, remarked how excited and enthusiastic these students are about coming to the garden every day.

“We have to take turns on picking (vegetables) and who gets to take what back home,” she says. “They harvest the veggies, and are very excited to get to take the veggies home. Some have helped prepare the food with their families.”

In total, five of ACE’s Adult Basic Education students will graduate this month. Most students find jobs in the food industry, cleaning services, and even the local animal shelter. Some will return to continue participating in the program, but others are excited about job interviews and potential opportunities to kickstart their career.

THERE’S A NEW HAWK IN TOWN. If this year has proved anything, it’s that our college is resilient and we couldn’t have accomplished so much without working together as a whole. Catawba Valley Community College is more than just a campus. It’s an experience, a mindset, and a community.

We wanted to amplify this message with an innovative approach to our college brand, and enhancing our visual and linguistic elements will help our story of resilience take flight. This is the time to shine. This is the time to celebrate a new Red Hawk Nation.