Master Gardeners Help at Alexandria Children’s Garden
By Marsha Mercer, Extension Master Gardener
Photos courtesy of Alice Rogalski.
In 2010, the City of Alexandria worked with Master Gardeners to create the children’s garden at Tancil Court adjacent to the Ruby Tucker Center, which provides after-school programming and other family services to the residents in the surrounding area. The idea was for kids to be more active outside and learn about healthy food choices while having fun. There were even T-shirts.
The federal assistance and the T-shirts are long gone, but preschoolers through fourth graders at the public housing project still learn through gardening that vegetables start life from seeds — not in cans, boxes or encased in plastic.
Coached by Master Gardeners, the children still learn how to plant, cultivate, harvest and use vegetables, fruits and herbs in healthy snacks.