Wesley United Methodist Church in Aurora is feeding more than the spiritual needs of the community these days, thanks to the efforts of Girl Scouts of America Troop 4785, which is based at the church, as well as three other troops and their leaders in the area.
Beginning last fall, an urban garden that includes three raised beds on the church’s east lawn was established and then filled with compost and plants this spring.
Through the work of Scouts ranging from kindergarten through high school students, the fruits of their labor are now making their way to those in need, thanks to a feeding ministry for the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry in Aurora.
Troop Scoutmaster Kelly McCleary said over 100 pounds of produce – including jalapenos, yellow squash, tomatoes, watermelon and green peppers – was brought to the pantry last month through the program.
“We had the beds given to us by this garden initiative that was started by Michelle Obama when she was in office, and it has been carried on now by Gold Star families,” McCleary said. “The beds were put in last year and compost was put in, and then we had vegetables planted this spring.”
Those three raised beds are now flourishing on the church grounds. The project has included up to 15 different Scouts participating.
Wesley United Methodist Church Pastor Tammy Scott said the project is a great one for the community.
“We were approached by this OLI Gardens of Illinois group and they put in these amazing beds and their hope is that somebody will take over and doing the planting and weeding and harvesting and giving the food to a food pantry,” she said. “When we brought it up at church there wasn’t anybody that was particularly interested in doing it. I’ve got a brown thumb – honestly, I can’t grow anything.”
Scott added that when the Girl Scout troop learned the project “mostly involved just watering and harvesting plants they were ready to help out.”
She said the Scouts “are the ones that go out and check it every week and are pulling the bounty.”
“It’s really kind of cool seeing a piece of our church property being used that way,” she said. “Our neighbors don’t often get that fresh kind of produce. I’m sure the group is going to continue on next year.”
McCleary said the gardening efforts are also paying dividends in another way by keeping more Scouts in the program after middle school.
“Being able to continue on once the girls get past middle school is very important. We tend to lose a lot of kids once they get older,” she said. “This shows they can still do activities, and the little ones can help too. I’ve been in Scouts 55 years and giving support to the community is one of the most important things we can do. We want to make sure everyone is taken care of and instill care of the community. Whatever we can do to give back is very important.”
Regarding the crop, McCleary said “we’re very surprised at how much we are getting from such a small space.”
“I had never done gardening before, and we were working with girls ages kindergarten and up and we had all those ages coming and helping,” she said. “Now the older girls have taken over doing the watering and making sure things are being harvested. We’ve given over 100 pounds of produce so far … our tomato plants have gone crazy.”
The prolific first year has kept a number of Scouts like Alaina Nelson, 16, of Aurora, busy collecting the bounty.
“I’ve been in Girl Scouts since kindergarten and my grandmother had her own garden and it was something I already knew about, so I thought I might as well do it because giving back is helpful,” she said. “My family – I used to live with 11 people so it was a struggle for a while here and being able to give back always helps me to feel better because that was us once. So, helping someone to get better in their life or making sure they have a meal, it’s very helpful for me.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
