Cooperative Living April 2022 - 10

GREEN THUMB
Growing Compassion
by Laura Emery, Staff Writer
Shenandoah Valley Area Junior Master
Gardener Program plants important seeds
M
adison Truong knew she
was doing much more than
learning how to grow fresh
vegetables.
" We grew tomatoes and potatoes
to feed people who don't have a lot of
money. It made me feel good to be able
to help others, " the home-schooled
second grader says.
In 2021, Madison, 8, and her brother,
Lachlan, 6, joined the 4-H Junior
Master Gardener Home School Program,
offered by the Northern Shenandoah
Valley Master Gardener Association,
in conjunction with the Frederick
County 4-H.
Th program, open to home-school
children, runs from March to September.
When I heard about this program
being offered, I thought it was perfect, "
says Stacy Talbott, mother of Madison
and Lachlan.
Tammy Epperson, Frederick County's
4-H technician with the Virginia
Cooperative Extension and a member
of Shenandoah Valley Electric
Cooperative, says, " Th students get
educated by area master gardeners,
and they use that knowledge to plant,
nurture and harvest the vegetables in
a garden and then donate the produce
to the [Congregational Community
Action Program]. " CCAP is a
non-denominational group that
provides support to the at-risk and
underserved of Winchester and
Frederick County.
IMPRESSIVE PRODUCE
Since the program's inception in
2010, 191 local home-schoolers have
gone through the program and 8,923
pounds of produce have been donated
to CCAP.
Andrea Cosans, executive director
of CCAP and SVEC member, says
the food pantry blends nicely with
the junior master gardener program.
" It allows us to have some fresh,
diverse produce for clients who wouldn't
otherwise get that. It's a great program
and we're thankful to be a part of it.
I truly believe that if you catch people
at a young age, you can plant seeds
of compassion, and that's what we're
all about, " she says.
Participants are primarily from
Frederick County, with some from
Clarke, Warren and the city of
Winchester. They are between 6 and
12 years old and receive 12 weeks
of classroom instruction.
Th program uses the expertise and
volunteer time of up to 12 different
master gardeners from Frederick,
Warren and Clarke counties.
TEACHING TOOLS
Lynn Hoffman worked with
Tammy Epperson,
Lachlan and others
tend to a garden.
8 ● Cooperative Living ●
April 2022
Epperson to get the program up and
running in 2010. She's been a master
gardener since 2001 and loves to
teach children about gardening.
" We want to get them outside to
get muddy, dig up stuff look at the
worms and have fun, " she says, laughing.
Madison Truong
checks out the
radish harvest.
According to Hoffman, students enjoy
walking to CCAP to deliver the fresh
produce. " It makes them feel good to
know they're doing something good for
the people in the community. It's not just
about education; it's also about giving
back, " she explains.
Talbott couldn't agree more. " It was
a learning tool for my children in both
life and in the garden. Madison loved
the tomatoes and Lachlan was fascinated
by the potatoes. When you're digging
for potatoes, a fi rst you don't see any in
the dirt and then you keep turning the
dirt in your hands and suddenly several
will pop up out of the ground. It was
exciting and magical. "
At the beginning of the year, cicadas
were a challenge for the group, but also a
learning opportunity. Th students also
learned about pollinators, such as the
bees, and about the different types of
insects that attack plants. " The kids got
to pluck some of them off the leaves
and learned ways to safely prevent them
from infesting the garden in the future, "
Talbott says.
Due to the particularly warm weather,
the garden needed to be watered
frequently, she notes.
" We had assigned days to go down
and work in the garden together
as a group. We also had great family time,
spending an hour or two each week
working on it on our own, " Talbott says.
If produce was available, families
harvested it, then logged how much
they harvested. Talbott says her children
harvested many pounds of potatoes and
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Cooperative Living April 2022

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