Learning about gardening at the Board of Aldermen meeting

Last Tuesday, I attended a Town of Carrboro Board of Aldermen meeting at the Town Hall. Although there was a lot of conversation around town logistics and plans that I did not have big opinions about, I was struck by one presentation in particular. Two people from the Carrboro Growing Healthy Kids Project explained a new program that has been created to teach children how to garden, and to show them how important it is to lead a healthy lifestyle, including our diet. The presenters made this program sound like lots of fun, but what struck me the most was the demographics of it: 70% of the children and families that are involved with this are Latino. In fact, there was a participant of the program that came and spoke about her experience with the gardening program. She was around 9 years old, and her name was Denise. She said that was she enjoys the most is getting dirty working in the garden.
I thought it was interesting that the Latino immigrant community is very involved in this garden. The presenters also mentioned that there is an increasing number of Burmese immigrants getting involved as well. I think this illustrates that the way we often think about immigrants is quite narrow. Immigrant families who live in our city are eager to learn and to get involved in community events, and they are very willing to participate in the programs that our town has to offer. And they are not the only ones to benefit from these types of projects! Through this innovative gardening program, ALL Chapel Hill/Carrboro residents have the opportunity to form crosscultural relationships, build a stronger community, and take part in a healthier lifestyle.

-Cristina Chenlo; Project D