Planting seeds and celebrating the blooms! Love Wisconsin has been running a series of personal stories about how COVID-19 has impacted daily life and sense of purpose. Individually, they represent unique examples of struggle and creativity. Taken together, they create a mosaic of resilience we find inspiring.
One of these stories inspired a journalist at The Wisconsin State Journal to dig deeper. Sarah Karlson shared her story with Love Wisconsin last month and this week you'll find an article about Sarah's work at Badger Rock Middle School in Madison in the newspaper!
Sarah works as the Farmer in Residence at Badger Rock Neighborhood Center. In addition to managing the community gardens, she also runs gardening programs for middle school students. Typically, during the school year she collaborates with teachers to create gardening and cooking curriculum that take advantage of the nearly two acres of land around the school. Usually Sarah ends each lesson by sharing food with the students. She said to Love Wisconsin, "When COVID hit, I wondered how we would continue to do education. I knew how to handle the garden and how to farm safely. But how would I educate our students, their families and the larger community?"
Each Monday, the State Journal features a story about learning in Wisconsin. This week, in a story called "Gardening at Badger Rock lets students earn money, socialize during COVID-19 pandemic," reporter Andy Manis follows up where Sarah's story left off. Some of the students speak for themselves to underscore what has made the opportunity to grow food with other people so valuable this summer. Thanks to Manis and The Wisconsin State Journal for shining a light on this story!
While you are here, read Sarah's and other stories on the new lovewi.com website! Follow Love Wisconsin on Facebook or sign up to get stories delivered straight to your inbox!
