Boys and Girls Club Garden Sturgeon Bay

Boys and Girls Club garden transformed into an abundant vegetable garden by the children's garden club

At first glance, the raised beds at the Boys and Girls Club look daunting. Every bed was completely overgrown by weeds. It was said there had been challenges with the garden in the past; terrible soil quality, the lack of a convenient water source and bunnies, lots of bunnies. But this year something magic happened!

During the spring we worked with the children to explore the life cycle of seeds. Equipped with a variety of seeds from the Door County Seed Library we observed the germination of bean seeds and used milk jugs to winter sow marigolds. Grocery store produce became a science experiment as kids dissected fruits and vegetables to discover seeds. They even sampled edible seeds, nuts, and oats, learning that food is science, too.

Once school was out, we moved to the raised beds outside. Much to our surprise the children loved weeding. The children were delighted to find a bunny nest in one of the raised beds with newborn bunnies. Thanks to a $500 grant to the Boys and Girls Club of Sturgeon Bay we invested in organic soil. Equipped with seeds from the Door County Seed Library, extra plants from the DCMGA plant sale, some donated seedlings and the winter sown marigolds we were ready to plant our vegetable beds. As the summer stretched into sunny, warm days the tomatoes started to flower and the marigolds burst into bloom. The children were enthusiastic and engaged, bolstered by baby zucchini starting to develop. The young gardeners designed and built trellises for the cucumbers and beans. When a tiny watermelon was found on the vine, the cheers could be heard across the garden. The children were hungry not just for the experience, but to taste everything, including the volunteer clover and dill.

It wasn’t long before there were mountains of lettuce and greens, tons of zucchini, colorful squash in many shapes and sizes, armloads of tomatoes, a couple of cantaloupes and a few peppers... an incredible bounty!

The garden belonged to the children from start to finish. The Boys and Girls Club horticulturists were so thrilled with the fruits of their labor they wanted to share it with their families. Each week the enthusiastic, smiling gardeners brought home something fresh from the garden.

It was a joy to see the magic of the garden through the eyes of children. The Gardening Club, with support from the Door County Master Gardeners Association, created more than a garden—it created a community of young growers learning healthy habits and building stronger connections in support of the Boys and Girls Club mission promoting healthy lifestyles. We even planted a clover bed just for the bunnies, which was accidentally weeded out, so the rabbits had to wait a bit for their clover. Thankfully the bunnies didn’t munch on the vegetables.

Thank you to the Master Gardeners Julie Sausen, Catherine Schultz and Jill Harkaway, volunteer Bryan Troutman, and Joe Brooker of the Boys and Girls club for their experience and dedication to the Boys and Girls Gardening Club project. Together, they helped turn a patch of weeds into a thriving, joyful garden.