By Kaitlin Candelaria
Betty Daigle and Dolly Walker have been affectionately dubbed the Gardening Grannies by the faculty and staff at Riverchase Elementary School.
Both Master Gardeners, the women are not only deft with a spade and a hoe, they also must accumulate at least 25 volunteer hours a year to maintain their Master Gardner certification.
When they received an email from the Jefferson County Master Gardeners three years ago about starting a small plot at Riverchase Elementary School, they were both interested because of their personal connections. Daigle, a Hoover resident, has two granddaughters at Riverchase, and Walker, a Birmingham resident, has a granddaughter and a grandson there.
The two have spent the past three years living up to their nickname by creating a large garden behind Riverchase Elementary School. What initially started as a small volunteer opportunity has turned into almost a full-time job for both Daigle and Walker. Both retired educators, the pair has worked diligently to create a unique outd
oor classroom where children can plant, grow and harvest their own food.
“Being an educator, I know this is the way kids learn,” Daigle said. “They learn through doing. You can read about (gardening) from now until you’re 20 years old, but actually seeing a garden and picking beans is a memorable experience and that’s the way children learn best.”
In fall 2013, six classes at the elementary school signed up to visit the garden weekly. This year, the Gardening Grannies are hosting a whopping 24 classes throughout the school year for weekly lessons in the garden.
“We’re really trying to align what we do in the garden and the way we ask the children to perform to the way the teachers are having them work in the (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) labs.”
This will be the third year with the garden in place, and both women agree that it has grown significantly since its inception.
“Last year was a big year for us,” Walker said. “Each year we have built off the previous year and it has grown a little more and so have the experiences of the children and interest from the teachers and the community.”
One community member is Spain Park High School student Woody Shin. Shin, an Eagle Scout, approached Daigle and Walker last year about working in the garden as part of his service project.
“They came to us and asked what we would like to see in the garden so we had a meeting and threw around some ideas,” Daigle said. “The result was new umbrellas, which we desperately needed, an arbor and pavers because last year during the rainy season we had a real mess out there and it prevented children from being able to get into the garden area. All of that grew out of needs. We really needed that kind of boost.”
Shin partnered with the Hoover City Dad Brigade, a group put together by school board President Derrick Murphy, to install and build the new materials Daigle and Walker requested. At the completion in late August, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was hosted to celebrate the garden’s fresh new look.
At the end of August, students harvested their summer crops – which included bush beans, corn, okra, strawberries, squash and herbs – and began preparing for their fall gardens, which will include 10 to 12 different plants that flourish in the fall.
Oftentimes, teachers will work with the cafeteria to prepare food made from the items that the children harvest in the garden. If there is food left over, the children will donate it to the Magic City Food Bank.
In the spring, the Grannies host a garden tasting party during which the students harvest everything that’s available and the two women bring it home and fix a variety of dishes for the classes to enjoy. Last year, some of the children’s prizes included a green tomato salsa, potatoes and lavender cookies. Sometimes, the Grannies also save food from the fall, such as tomatoes, and freeze it to create pizza sauce in the spring.
“The most important thing is for us to provide a learning experience with the things you can grow and eat in the garden while providing a scientific learning experience that is compatible with their curriculum,” Walker said. “Our rewards are the smiles and hugs and thank yous we get every week from the kids.”
Grants from Home Depot as well as the Hoover Beautification Board and the Junior Master Gardener program in Jefferson County have enabled the Grannies to purchase the supplies they need.
“I just love the excitement on their faces,” Daigle said. “I get excited when I see them coming out and they’re looking forward to those opportunities. For us, it’s all about the kids.”
