While working a little later than usual a few kids from our neighborhood stopped by the fence asking if they could have a few of the squash and zucchini. Of course they could, as long as they came in the gate and took a look around at the rest of the garden too. All of a sudden, a whole band of children came bounding in, including our friend Kameron, back from camp. As they surveyed the garden they wanted to taste everything they could (well except for the hot peppers). One girl in particular, Briyante, in the pink shirt and a chef in the making, was determined to try all of the different types of lettuce, exclaiming that each one was better than the last.

Just the other day, 12-year-old Kameron (with a K, he will tell you), a kid from around the corner who has been keeping a close eye on our work, showed up at our lot with a head full of questions and a real enthusiasm to help out. Since then he’s been doing pretty much everything there is to do, from staking and tying tomatoes to attempting to drag bags of soil that might be a little bit bigger than he is. He was even taking control of the business side of things, when he was helping to plant our latest pumpkin patch and determined that “with 8 seedlings with an average of 5 pumpkins per plant, we will have 40 pumpkins for Halloween!” Easily now the most charming member of our team, it has been a real pleasure to have him, and his scores of friends who stop by to see what’s going on, around.