Memphis: ‘It’s almost like a food forest:’
New Hope Christian Academy, located In Frayser, has started an urban farm that is helping low-income Memphis families get fresh produce during the recession
By Gina Butkovich
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Dec 24, 2022
Excerpt:
The space is set up to maximize growth potential, but also to give the young kids and teachers at New Hope plenty of space to play, learn and read. The garden is on a slope, so water trenches have been dug in front of the beds to capture runoff water and then backfilled with wood chips so kids can walk on it. All of the plants are labeled by the students as part of a project a class did a few years ago researching plants. And there are shaded areas throughout where teachers can take their kids to read or sit outside.
“Creation care is a big phrase that we use because we’re a Christian school and we want our students to grow up understanding that this creation is special and it’s incredible, it’s magical. But it also requires us to know how to take care of it and be more present in our choices and how we’re growing up and living our lives,” Vaughan said. “And so I think all of that kind of ties in but also with these sitting spaces, the other push is if you’re a fifth (or) sixth grade teacher who’s teaching a book, come out and read a book outside. It doesn’t have to be related to gardening, but it is a beautiful space with which students and teachers can interact with. And I think that’s the big thing.”
