Ramona Jaramillo
Rocketship SSP
Being an AmeriCorps member has taught me how important garden base programs are. When I started teaching at Rocketship SSP I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out. If the inner city kids would accept learning about gardening or pass it off as stupid or dumb. I soon found students looked forward to gardening. At times some students would absolutely refuse to go (not an option) those students did not want to leave when garden time was over. I think gardening gives students a feeling of success because they can take a tiny seed and grow something they can eat. Their excitement about learning about earthworms, ladybugs, bee’s, composting, the environment and nature is overwhelming. I’m grateful to AmeriCorps, not only as an AmeriCorps member but also as a parent to have educational programs like gardening in our schools.