Gardening with Rayitos de Sol

This spring, the kiddos at Rayitos de Sol rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty as they began planting a brand-new community garden!

Since Rayitos de Sol first opened in 2021, gardening and learning about the natural world have been an important part of the curriculum. Now, with the program settled into a larger space, the garden is growing right alongside the children.

With the help of wonderful community partners from the Women for Healthy Rural Living (WHRL), Healthy Acadia, and youth leaders in the Mano en Mano the 4-H program, students spent the day planting seeds, filling pots with fresh soil, and learning about where food comes from. Community partners provided all of the materials needed for the project, including seeds, soil, and gardening supplies.

This season, the garden will include sunflowers, pumpkins, cucumbers, tomatoes, and cilantro. As the plants grow throughout the summer, children will help care for the garden while learning about nutrition, sustainability, and community food systems through support from youth leaders in our 4-H project.

The garden is more than just a learning space. Produce grown in the community garden will be shared with Rayitos de Sol families, helping provide fresh food to take home while creating opportunities for children to connect with nature and their community.

We are so grateful to community members, Healthy Acadia, WHRL, and our student leaders in 4-H for helping make this project possible and for supporting hands-on learning opportunities for kiddos at Rayitos de Sol.

¡Gracias!