Jacob Cohn Photo
Barrels once meant to store goods now have a new function: bringing a community together.
That’s the idea behind “Barrels of Bounty,” a project bringing together students from the Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School and members of West River neighborhood groups in an effort to help local citizens to grow their own food and develop the relationship between the community and the school.
Billy Bromage Photo
“It’s like a dream come true,” said Barnard environmental lead teacher Kel Youngs. Youngs and a dozen seventh-graders from the school’s honor society joined around six West River residents in work on the project Tuesday.
In Barrels of Bounty, students and residents worked together to create a mixed soil, including organic fertilizer, that would support vegetables. Students then helped residents fill barrels — one for each person — with the soil and plant them with vegetables.
Residents have taken the barrels home. Students eventually plan to “collect the barrels, refurbish the soil and replant in the spring,” Youngs said.
Members of the West River Neighborhood Association (incorporated as the West River Neighborhood Services Corporation) participated in the project. The group has been looking for ways to “build a stronger relationship” with the school, president Stacy Spell said.
Besides being a learning experience for students, Barrels for Bounty will benefit members of his group, Spell said..
“They’ll be able to see the benefit of growing their own food,” Spell said. He added that growing vegetables encourages “good dietary habits.”
The project was also sponsored by the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement, a Yale-affiliated group. CARE and the Neighborhood Association have been partnering with Barnard in efforts to bring healthier foods into West River.
Students echoed the idea that their project will benefit the West River community. One said that the idea of the project was to allow for “more convenient food.”
“At Barnard there’s crops available to pretty much anyone who wants them,” another student said.
Barnard, a K‑8 school, has a curriculum focused on environmental studies and stewardship of the earth, and all Barnard students develop experience with gardening, Youngs said.
“I think the primary mantra here is that every student needs to know where food comes from,” Youngs said.
Youngs said he hopes that participants in Barrels of Bounty will be “empowered to grow their own food” and looks forward to partnering with the community on future projects.
“Everything we’ve done together has been a really nice success,” Youngs said.
Compliments to teacher Kel Youngs, the Barnard students, and the neighbors involved in this effort.