The Educational EarthBox®
Middle School Testimonials
“I am a 6th grade science teacher and have been using the Earthboxes with my students for a number of years. The students have loved growing and harvesting the vegetables. This year, however, I used the Earthbox curriculum to supplement my teaching and it was wonderful. It is based on good science and is very teacher friendly. I would highly recommend it to other teachers.”
— Ann Cruikshank
Marisa “Grows”
In Friendship, In horticultural knowledge,
In Entrepreneurial Skills, In Leadership
Through The Growing Connection
Two years ago I knew nothing about growing plants. Then my neighbors told me about The Growing Connection (TGC) and S.A.F.A.F.I.S Youth Program at Nay Aug Greenhouse in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I decided to join the program. The Growing Connection is an international program that teaches people to grow food using the Earthbox, a scientifically engineered container garden. People in Third World Countries who are part of The Growing Connection use Earthboxes to grow crops that they eat to survive. The S.A.F.A.R.I.S program uses the Earthbox as part of a youth mentoring program where students learn to grow and sell plants and produce. Instead of playing games like children do in many youth programs, the S.A.F.A.R.I.S raise crops. It may not sound like much fun, but it really is. I have made many friends. I even met and became friends with a girl from Norway who vacations in Scranton for the summer and is part of the program; her name is Maggie. While we learned how to garden and raise crops, we also found time to have fun. It’s turned out to be tremendous fun. Making friends turns a job that can sometimes be boring and challenging into something fun.
Last year when I was a student in the S.A.F.A.R.I.S. Program, I became an herbalist. I can tell you almost anything about a whole bunch of herbs. For example, lemon balm is good for your skin and if thrown on the grill while cooking, it will keep the mosquitoes away. As a student in the S.A.F.A.R.I.S Program, I maintained the Earthboxes and cared for the veggies, herbs, and flowers that grew in them. I also learned great selling skills. We sold all of our produce at the Farmer’s Market. During the rest of the week, we sold at the greenhouse by our garden. If someone wanted a specific veggie, we were able to pick it right there for them. As a fundraiser, we sold the Earthboxes, as the whole box with plants and sometimes just the box itself. As part of TGC, we were able to talk and share pictures with our sister greenhouses in Ghana and Mexico where they grow food for themselves.
With the social and selling skills I have learned, I now work at a restaurant and I am able to talk to people without getting nervous or fidgety. Throughout this program I have grown and changed. My eating habits have changed. I have gone from eating nothing but junk to eating a salad every night with dinner. I now know why it is important to eat healthily. Lots of health problems and diseases may be cured by adding herbs to your diet. If everyone added a variety of herbs to his diet, then people would not go to the doctor as much. Like most people, I don’t like to go to the doctor; adding herbs to my diet helps keep me out of the doctor’s office.
This year I was asked to teach the new students everything I have learned. It’s been a challenging and wonderful experience being able to give back everything I have learned. The new students did not know much about gardening so I had to speak to an inexperienced audience. I could not just ask them to do something; I had to show them what I meant. It was also a challenge to motivate the new students. Not everyone has the same interest in growing and selling produce. To motivate the students I occasionally had to make challenges and encourage competition. It worked. In addition to enjoying watching the produce grow from seed to full grown producing plants, I enjoyed seeing the new students being able to do tasks on their own without being told. The new students can now tell what needs to be done without me even having to say it!
In conclusion, The Growing Connection and working with the greenhouse has had an amazing effect on me. Being able to tell someone how to grow a plant and being able to sell things are things I never thought I would be able to do. I am very grateful to take this experience with me for the rest of my life.
