Greetings from Park Place!

The following blog was written by Tech GYRLS Brooklyn Burkett and Erin Smith:

The YWCA Tech GYRLS were very excited about the ASD meeting at Sugar Hollow Park in Bristol, VA. The first thing we learned about is a program their doing called An Edible Park. We talked about what kind of fruits we eat that grow on trees. It was very interesting; we learned that only certain trees can only grow in certain climates.

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Next, we moved on to a soil test. We took a test tube and put soil in it and we had to follow very detailed instructions. We put solution in it and three scoops of a half of a gram of dirt. Then, we let it set for 10 minutes and compared our results.  Blueberries need acidic soils and we needed to add peat moss to the planting site to help our blueberries grow well.

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The next part of the activity was digging. We dug four different holes so we could plant the three blueberry trees and one cherry tree for the Edible Park.

 

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Then we did Bucket Brigade; this is where we took buckets of water passed them down the line and poured them into the holes, so the plants could have water. Close to last, we planted the trees. Lastly, we built a fence to protect them.

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The GYRLS did a fantastic job helping ASD plant the second phase of Sugar Hollow’s Edible Park.  The park now includes a Service Berry, a Persimmon, 3 Blueberries and a Cherry tree.  We hope to plant Pears and Elderberries in the fall, and hopefully the GYRLS will be able to help us with that planting too.  This summer we plan to create a self-guided flier to help visitors to the park understand how to plant Trees that Feed on their own property. ASD would like to formally thank the YWCA Tech GYRLS for assisting us in this project.

With Gratitude on this Earth Day!  ~deni~