Gardening Club is a school community based in the Courtyard and the Annex.
The club focuses on keeping the courtyard tidy and organized. This club offers a unique location for students and staff to work in which has attracted many green thumbs to help out the school in a subtle way. Dr. Cohen and Mrs. Kash are the supporting advisors for this group who believe in the cause of supporting young students in their passions.
“When we first started,” Dr. Cohen said, “we actually didn’t have access to the courtyard, and so it was really hard to come up with activities, because we couldn’t really plant or garden, so at the beginning, they had to get really creative, and they did a lot of plant origami, things like that.”
Through the various activities, the club aims to encourage young students in learning how to take care of the courtyard by taking care of plants, sowing seeds, and socializing with their fellow peers.
“There was this group of friends,” Dr. Cohen stated, “these students in science research that really loved plants. And so, they wanted to start a gardening club.”
Ms. Kash speaks about the impact gardening has had on her.
“I graduated from Francis Lewis High School in 1967,” Ms. Kash stated, “I’m 74 years old, and I’m still here. So, the fact is, gardening has been a passion for me since I was a little girl.”
Her love for gardening encourages and continues to aid students in their self-discovery.
“Gardening keeps you young! Gardening is great exercise,” said Ms. Kash, “it takes out your stress, it’s creative, and it makes people happy.”
Michael An, the Gardening Club president, also told us about his interest in the club.
“I’ve always loved the outdoors,” said An, “so hearing there’s a garden club, I think it would’ve been really nice to just have a nice break in the fresh air after a long day of school. And it was the people that I met there that really made me stay though.”
Nico Lin is the second Co-President, and explained why the club is one of a kind.
“I think it’s that we really do help out the environment,” said Lin, “like our community too.”
Mrs. Kash stresses the fact that gardening uplifts and helps people connect.
“And it (gardening) is important because we’re in this world together, right? You gotta help each other even though there could be crazy stuff going on.”
