Project GROWS summer camp connects kids to kale, farming and community
WORDS | Lisa Archer PHOTOS | Jeremy Starn
Whose farm is this? OUR farm!
That’s the rallying cry that opens every youth-led program at Project GROWS. A nonprofit educational farm based in Staunton, Project GROWS’ mission is to grow a healthy community by connecting all people to nutritious foods. Through programming, farmers markets, mobile markets and partnerships with local organizations, they work to increase food access in their communities.
“Our mission to grow a healthy community starts with healthy kids,” states Nichole Barrows, Director of Education at Project GROWS. This mission led to the development of a farm summer camp for children. When Barrows was first hired, one of her goals was to partner with members of the community when planning programs for youth.
“I wanted to co-create something across the community because so much of what we do is done in partnership,” says Barrows. Barrows was connected with Karen Orlando, founder and president of the Blue Ridge Children’s Museum in Waynesboro. The museum’s mission is to connect families with young children to nature, culture and community in the central Shenandoah Valley. “When I connected with Karen, we got to talking and we started dreaming up camp together. We started with one week in 2019 and then we’ve grown from there.”
The first summer camp had 15 campers aged 5-9. This summer, some 60 campers will experience farming, cooking and the wonder of the outdoors.
Since its inception, the camp has strived to grow alongside its campers: as the first campers started to age out of the program, the camp expanded. Little GROWers is for campers ages 5-9 and Junior GROWers is for ages 10-13. “What we’ve seen is kids graduating from one program and moving into the next,” says Orlando. “We try to bring students into not just a sense of belonging, but a sense of, this is a function of their community and it exists for them, and I think they feel that when they are here,” adds Barrows.
This continuation of growth is evident with a new pilot program that launches this summer: Counselors in Training, for youth ages 14-16. Barrow and Orlando are adamant about fostering an environment where young people feel empowered and a part of the decision-making process.
“This will be my fourth summer at camp and my first summer in the role of camp coordinator,” says Libby Kreps, Summer Camp Educator at Project GROWS. As a freshman in college, Kreps thought she might want to pursue a career in education, but wanted to have hands-on experience to validate her inclination. Kreps has grown alongside the program and now is instrumental in planning the day-to-day activities. “I was given a space to not only explore what I was interested in,” says Kreps, “but to have some ownership over my own experience. That was extremely grounding as a young person.”
A typical day at camp starts with an opening activity such as an art project, yoga, or a game. “There’s some kids who are ready to go and get fired up in the morning,” says Kreps, “and some kids are still waking up. We allow space for both of those types of kids.”
Providing an immersive experience for all children is a guiding principle of camp. “I think all the kids that probably would not be successful in other situations are here at camp,” says Orlando, who also works at UVA as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for STAR (UVA’s Autism research initiative). “We’re able to keep them happy and they keep returning.”
After their opening activity, the first portion of the day is typically devoted to three or four stations, including guest facilitators who bring animals to teach about animal husbandry and a beekeeper who brings a hive and explains about the life cycle of a bee, the benefits of bees in your yard and all they do for the health of the environment.
Campers participate in growing, harvesting and preparing their own food. A module that returns every year is the preparation of a curly kale salad. Campers harvest the kale, learn how to strip it from its stalk, and then, using safety knives, they chop the kale; massage it with olive oil, herbs and spices; and have it as part of their lunch.
“You would not believe how much these kids love it,” says Barrows. “When kids have a chance to try something on their own terms, something they had a hand in growing or harvesting or cleaning and preparing, we see. Research tells us that those kids are more likely to eat that vegetable when they have a hand in growing it.”
After lunch, the afternoon focuses on letting the campers guide their own experience. “There’s no required way to experience camp,” says Kreps. “We’ve found that, often, the outdoors are enough for kids. They can find their own fun and creativity and we’re not necessarily there as facilitators but more to be the YES. They’re engaging with the space around them. We are there beside them and letting them, in some ways, guide the experience.”
“It’s really exciting when we can have ways to sustain students’ interest in healthy eating and gardening and farming,” emphasizes Barrows. “Because we know that not only are we potentially inspiring kids to pursue those interests as possible jobs in the future, but even if not, those healthy habits are going to stay with them.”
Campers who find an interest in farming or gardening have other outlets to explore these interests. “By the end of camp, every single camper has found at least one activity that they are consistently excited about. That is just a joy to see,” says Kreps.
As Orlando points out, “We’re not just doing this in a vacuum; we couldn’t do it without partner organizations.”
Waynesboro Public Schools has an Education Farm which serves students across the district, and Shelburne Middle School in Staunton offers a “Dig It” class to students. “I just had a student apply to the youth leaders program,” says Barrows. “He came up through the Shelburne program, and he said, now I’m ready for the next thing.”
Besides fostering an interest in healthy foods, the camp ensures those foods are accessible. Orlando and Barrows focused on making the camp affordable ($200/per camper for one week) and financial assistance is available for those who need it.
“We wanted to be affordable,” says Barrows. “We also wanted to be able to improve food access for the students who are here. Not just by teaching them how to grow food and lots of cooking activities and tastings that we hope gives kids a strong connection to food, but also bringing in the same city school meal program.”
In 2021, Project GROWS camp became a summer feeding site, providing healthy snacks and, later, lunch to students.
“When we welcome students to the farm, we’re not just hosting them. We’re saying, this is your farm, we’re growing food for your school, for your family. And that food is going out into cafeterias and it’s going out into the mobile market program and to the Waynesboro farmers market and into our farmstand and into the hands of the kids who come to be a part of the program.”
The collaborative efforts of Project GROWS and its partner organizations ensure that campers have the opportunity to engage with the world around them. To eat well, to explore, to learn together, and for anyone, of any age, to grow.
This article first appeared in our Summer 2024 Issue, The Rainbow Connection.
Project GROWS summer camp registration opens in February. To learn more visit projectgrows.org
