by Naomi Censullo Photos by Brendan Bagwell
Photo by Aspen Andrews ‘20
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hick-fil-A biscuits and soda cups in hand, students meandering from the parking lots rapidly increase their pace as the 8:15 bell resounds across campus, signaling the start of the day. Behind Carlos Science, this bell is a cue for Student Leadership Board and WA Grows leaders Brendan Bagwell ‘20 and Arun Rama-Krishnan ‘20 to take off their gloves and put away their shovels. These students and many other WA Grows members work morning and night to keep the beds full of spinach, arugula and squash. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes in order to keep the gardens alive and producing. With a mission of benefiting the community, WA Grows is an integral way the school gives back to the surrounding College Park area. A fairly new subset of the Student Leadership Board, WA Grows started two years ago, taking over the vacant garden beds once used for academic purposes. “The opportunity arose for a new service and educational opportunity to engage WA students in discussions about service, sustainability and the ways fresh produce can positively impact a community,” Ms. Marianne Lecesne, math teacher and the faculty sponsor of WA Grows, said. A completely separate entity from
Garden Club, WA Grows students receive service hours for coming out during lunch or tutorial to assist with the planting or watering of the garden beds. WA Serves members can sign up to help on Helper Helper. Volunteers plant, water, weed, pick and maintain the beds throughout the growing seasons. Club members plant vegetables according to their growing seasons and the predicted date of the last harvest. Right now, they plan to move several different types of vegetables outside to replace the squash and zucchini that have already been harvested. The plants are in a constant rotation of planting, picking and replanting in order to maximize the amount of produce grown and then donated. “All produce grown by WA Grows is donated to Love Beyond Walls and Family Life Ministries,” Bagwell said. “We have donated over 265 lbs of squash and zucchini along with green beans and other vegetables to Family Life Ministries so far this year and have received fabulous feedback from the beneficiaries that obtain food from them.” Under the leadership of the Student Leadership Board and with the support of the science department, WA Grows made some vital changes in order to
