May 2011 - Jefferson County Public Schools

The Secret
Garden
By: Jalyn Hewitt
Did anyone know
of the secret
garden at Central
High School? Well
we have one
hidden in the back
of our school that
our very own Mr. Helvey helped to create.
The garden is filled with lots of veggies such
as radishes, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and
potatoes. I interviewed Mr. Helvey, asking
him questions about the “secret garden.”
First I started off by asking Mr.
Helvey what made him start the garden. “I
started the garden to help students to make
the connection to the food supply and
experience the fresh food supply. There’s
something sacred about growing vegetables
in the dirt.” I, too, have embraced Mr.
Helvey’s notion about there being
something sacred when vegetables grow out
of the dirt. Mr. Helvey and I continued
talking about his upkeep of the garden and
his opinion about gardening in general.
Me: How do you keep up with the garden?
Helvey: I go out in the morning during my
planning or after school to water the plants,
but I haven’t had to do that much because of
all the rain.
Me: Which vegetable is the hardest to
grow?
Helvey: Carrots seem to be the slowest at
the moment. The radishes are growing the
fastest.
Me: What do you enjoy most about
gardening?
Helvey: Seeing the growth. We start with a
tiny seed and there’s something magical
about it becoming a vegetable. It’s exciting
when the students see the gardening. I’m
looking forward to harvesting and picking
the vegetables.
Me: Who helps you with the gardening?
Helvey: Ms. Ballard’s class is in charge of
one of the beds. I am taking care of one. The
yearbook staff is taking care of one. And
one of Mr. McCutcheon’s classes are taking
care of one.
Me: What is something you want people to
know about gardening?
Helvey: People should know that you have
to continue watering. You have to thin some
of the seeds out to make them grow bigger.
Me: What do you suggest to a rookie about
gardening?
Helvey: Grow something easy. Now-a-days,
it doesn’t matter where you live or how
much space you have. This opens the door
for healthy eating and to save money.
Me: Is there anything that you would like to
say about the garden or gardening in
general?
Helvey: We have a $2,000 grant from the
Center for Disease Control. The whole idea
is to fight obesity. Hopefully we are able to
maintain the garden for years to come.
I hope that we can continue the
garden, too. Childhood obesity has become a
big problem for children in the United
States. It is found that children today may be
the heaviest that they have ever been. Many
schools in the country are starting gardening
programs in an attempt to possibly eliminate
small fractions of the obesity scale. Not only
will gardening help eliminate obesity, but it
will be a lot of fun to the participants. I
personally am one of the students that is
helping Mr. Helvey with the “secret
garden,” and it is a great experience. I hope
that this garden won’t be a secret any longer
and that other students will join in the fun.
Mr. Helvey has started something
great…Keep up the good work Mr. Helvey!
Pictures courtesy of Mr. Helvey