Our Residents

Kay’Lees Santiago is dreaming about beans, tomatoes and flowers.

Angelique Huertas and Destiny Reyes, both 10, show their bean sprout at the after-school program at Robinson Gardens Apartments.

For 9-year-old Sulmarie Huertas, it’s strawberries.

Destiny Reyes, 10, wants collard greens and corn.

The three are among a dozen children at Springfield Housing Authority’s Robinson Gardens Apartments who are part of an after-school program that will reap serious benefits this summer – they are planning and planting a garden.

“I really like the idea of having a garden because we’re learning about how plants grow,” said Kay’Lees, who is 9 and a fourth-grader at Dorman Elementary School.

“Plus that, we can grow the things we love, and then eat them. We’re going to get lots of other kids involved,” she promised.

The weekly sessions began in February, courtesy of a partnership between Talk/Read/Succeed!, Dorman Elementary School, and two graduate students from Smith College who are helping Robinson Gardens children plan and create their dream project on a plot on the north side of the development.

Three bean sprouts reach towards the sun in the after-school program at Robinson Gardens.

Lynne Cimino, outreach coordinator for the collaborative T/R/S! program that has united two SHA developments, two city elementary schools, and some two dozen educational, counseling and other agencies, said the garden project is hitting a high spot with children and adults alike. And it’s only going to get better as the growing season gets underway.

“It’s been great,” Cimino said. “Besides learning a lot about gardening and sustainability, they’re developing relationships with each other, and finding out what ‘community’ means. They’re talking together about what they want in their garden.”

T/R/S! started nearly three years ago with a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and continues, with SHA participation and coordination from the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation. It is a holistic program with a primary goal of boosting literacy among children.

Cimino said the garden project fits right in, with ongoing reading and writing activities, including journals and maps.

Smith College MSW students Staci Webb and Eva Tracy work with the elementary-aged children every week, planning out the garden they will grow this spring.

Eva Tracy and Staci Webb are working at Dorman as part of their Master’s in Social Work program at Smith. They wanted part of their work to focus on home and family, and so made the connection with the T/R/S! after-school program at Robinson.

Together, they worked with children to develop the plan for a community project – the garden – and then to execute it. As warm weather approaches, they will reach out to more children, and their families, for help and involvement.

“We wanted to find a community project that would be fun for everyone, and at the same time serve a purpose,” said Tracy. “We’re trying to build team cohesion through activities that focus on literacy and learning.”

Webb said she can see the children unite in both learning and the sense of community. They are truly excited about a project they will eventually be able to see, smell, touch and taste, she said.

“The kids are making the decisions themselves. We’re really just guiding them here,” said Webb.

“It’s their community, and they’re taking ownership of it. It’s exciting to be a part of it,” she said.

For now, children are sketching out preliminary plans for gardens, thinking about what plants will be included, and growing bean sprouts in plastic containers, to watch the cycle of growth and to develop the skills they will need to care for the fruits of their garden as it matures over the course of the summer.

“I like that we get to help the community and grow things for the community,” said Destiny Reyes. “And it’s fun watching our plants grow.”

Holding her bean spout in a plastic cup, 10-year-old Angelique Huertas said, “I sing to my plant at night to help it grow better.”

Nine-year-old Sulmarie Huertas holds her plant carefully on her way home at Robinson Gardens.

She added, “It’s good to have a garden because we’re helping other children. Even if we move away, our garden will be here as long as people take care of it.”

As planting season nears, the project will partner for help and guidance with Gardening the Community, a Springfield-based, youth oriented food justice organization that helps grow organic fruits and vegetables on empty lots to support a healthy and equitable local food system.