Bear Breaks volunteered at Growing Places Indy today to learn more about Sustainability. While there, we fought off freezing conditions including both wind and snow. Luckily, we were able to work in the greenhouses to warm us up. While in the greenhouses, we prepared crates of soil to be seeded. Immediately after that, we planted the seeds into our newly made crates.

When we were in the cold, we uncovered several beds and prepped the soil. With the below freezing temperature and the heavy winds, we had to take breaks by running our hands under warm water. We also had to be careful as we planted seeds to be sure the wind didn’t blow them away. A favorite highlight of the group was finding a carrot that was left from last Fall. It was still good and we were able to wash it and eat it!

Growing Places Indy is located next to a school building. The students do not always act with the goal of sustainability. Sadly, this is by littering and stepping on the beds, which is awful for the soil. Hearing about and seeing this made me reflect back on when I was in grade school and gave zero concern to both of these areas. While I didn’t litter, I let other people do it. I also didn’t think about how walking in the soil was bad for it because all I only saw it as ground to walk on.

My experience at Growing Places Indy has made me think about gardening more myself. Although the work is tiresome and time-consuming, it is beneficial by having the satisfaction of growing different things and making more sustainable choices.