I'm assuming that you all have seen the movie Rocky, I am also
assuming you’re familiar with the famous steps. Well today we all got to go
visit and run up those very same steps (and take some pretty awesome pictures
with the Rocky statue). There were races and lots and lots of sweat as we conquered
the steps and it was pretty exciting being able to experience the same ones.
However, the steps weren’t the only thing I participated in today. On this very
hot day in Philadelphia, I worked at Germantown Garden, a small garden run by a
very kind woman named Amanda. She not only handed her fruits and vegetables out
to neighbors, family friends, and local organizations, but she ran a small
produce stand at least twice a week to make some extra money. Unfortunately,
the loved garden and vegetable stand were not able to support Amanda as needed,
so it was necessary that she get a full time job, resulting in a substantial amount
of work NOT getting done in her prized garden. We were privileged to be able to
help her with the immense task of tackling the jungle of weeds. It was truly
amazing getting to see the fruit of our labor as the garden finally started to
look like a clean, fruitful piece of land. Although the heat never stopped and
the exhaustion set in, feeling God work through us on this day was truly an
amazing feeling that I am glad to have gotten the opportunity to do. -Lauren
Today I worked at a garden called Blessed Roots where we
spent the day pulling roots out of plant beds then planting some new plants.
When we first got there we couldn’t see the plant beds at all and assumed that
the plants were planted in the ground. By the end of the day every root was gone.
The garden had been completely cleared and ready for new plants. It was amazing
to see how much we could get accomplished in just a short amount of time. The
best part was that we were still able to enjoy ourselves by doing things like
singing and taking occasional breaks to play with the cute little snakes.
Despite the fact that we were doing exhausting work in the sun everyone still
had a positive attitude without complaining, making the day much more enjoyable
and allowing us to get more done. -Katie
Over the past two days I have been able to learn so much about
why agriculture is so important and beneficial to the people in Philadelphia. I
have enjoyed getting to see the gardens and weeding them, knowing that my
little action of pulling out a few weeds will have an impact on the community,
and help the farmers and groups ahead of us to be ready to plant more. Today I worked
at a garden, where my job was weeding small flower plants. At first I was very
confused why they had flowers if they were planning on growing food, but then I
learned all the flowers grown there were sent out to various farms around the
city. The flowers were then used at the farms to attract certain insects that
would get rid of the pests that would keep the food from growing. Getting to
eat all locally grown or organic food has been a very different experience but I
have enjoyed it a lot so far. Its been fun to try food that I would normally
eat at home like pizza, sandwiches, and waffles, but it’s a whole new taste
that I have found to be really good so far. The trip has only been two days but
it’s been a lot of fun and a whole new experience that I’m extremely thankful I’ve
gotten to be a part of. -Kaili
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