St. John Berchmans students were involved in the construction and planting of the Giving Garden on school grounds. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Paul Schattenberg)
More than 100 people attended the recent Giving Garden celebration at St. John Berchmans Catholic School, including students involved in the construction and planting of the garden, which is located on school grounds. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Paul Schattenberg)

SAN ANTONIO – “Twice blessed” would be an accurate way to describe the Giving Garden at St. John Berchmans Catholic School in San Antonio.

The garden, built this spring by St. John Berchmans students in cooperation with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Bexar County Master Gardeners, was blessed by both a Catholic priest and Native American group during a recent celebration held at the school.

Consisting of 10 raised beds, the garden was tended through the summer by a core group of about 15 students, who harvested various vegetables prior to the start of the school year. The students were given advice and instruction by Bexar County Master Gardener John Mayer, who also taught from the Learn, Grow, Eat and Go! 4-H curriculum.

The students, who were involved in the garden through a special interest 4-H club at the school, recently planted new vegetables for fall harvest, including tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, onions and herbs.

Coordinators said the celebration was held to say “thank you” to those involved in creating the Giving Garden, let other St. John Berchmans students know the garden was now open to all who wished to participate and give the garden an “official” blessing. Event activities included presentations, Native American music, students serving healthy vegetable snacks to attendees and a healthy food preparation demonstration presented by AgriLife Extension’s Better Living for Texans program experts.

The highlight of the celebration was the “twin” blessings by the Rev. Fidele Dikete and the intertribal Native American group Southern Winds, which also supplied live music for the celebration.

“We were happy to be invited to participate in this celebration and to give our blessing of thanks to the One Great Spirit who created us all,” said Sue Sanchez, a member of Southern Winds. “These kids have worked hard to bring food from the ground, and we are happy to bless this garden and also give thanks to Mother Earth, who made this possible.”

Members of the Southern Winds intertribal Native American group helped bless the Giving Garden and provided music for the celebration. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
Members of the Southern Winds intertribal Native American organization helped bless the Giving Garden at St. John Berchmans Catholic School and provided music for the celebration. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)

More than 100 people, including students involved in the building and tending of the garden, attended the event. Attendees included District 5 City Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales and officials from AgriLife Extension, National 4-H and other organizations.

“The Giving Garden is an example of how the school wants students to relate to nature and learn to appreciate what the earth provides for each of us,” Gonzales said.

Melinda Garcia, the AgriLife Extension 4-H youth development program specialist in charge of Children, Youth and Families at Risk, or CYFAR, activities for AgriLife Extension in Bexar County, explained that garden funding was provided through a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the USDA awards CYFAR grants to help the Cooperative Extension System and land-grant institutions use their resources to assist individuals who may be at risk of not developing the skills needed to live productive and positive lives.

“The Giving Garden is part of our Sustainable Communities Project efforts, which include teaching youth about nutrition and food preparation along with providing them opportunities to learn about science, technology, math and engineering, or STEM, subjects,” Garcia said. “The USDA grant was given to promote sustainable communities’ efforts in both Bexar and Harris counties, and we chose St. John Berchmans as a location in which to build a garden that would   serve the school as well as involve the surrounding community.”

Beverley Abbott, principal of St. John Berchmans, said the garden gave students an opportunity to learn about nature and science, as well as learning important life skills such as how to work responsibly as a team.

“We wanted the kids be a part of something that could show them in a practical sense how they might work to sustain themselves in the future,” Abbott said. “We would be remiss if we didn’t teach them such things.”

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