WA Grows - Naomi Censullo

by Naomi Censullo

Photos by Brendan Bagwell

Chick-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

Photo by Aspen Andrews ‘20

produce more food for donation. “At the beginning of the year, I told myself that I would change the entire outlook and effectiveness of WA Grows,” Bagwell said. “Last year, WA Grows grew plants in two to four grow beds at most, and the greenhouse looked like storage. The greenhouse has been [underutilized] year after year, and with help and resources from Ms. Lecesne, Arun and I were able to completely change the appearance and functionality of the greenhouse thus making WA Grows one of the most impactful service projects at Woodward Academy.” Members are constantly striving to better the greenhouse and maximize efficiency. “Arun and I set up a sprinkler system inside of the greenhouse using old sprinklers that hadn’t been used for years and PVC pipes in every bed,” Bagwell said. “In addition, we have experimented with a variety of methods of germination to find out for ourselves what the fastest method of growing certain types of plants is.” The group’s vision for the future success of WA Grows does not stop there. They set up an active Instagram account, @wagrows, to network and spread awareness about the gardens. The account posts weekly updates on the status of the beds, the number of donations made and gardening memes. The life growing in the beds mirrors the love growing amongst the WA Grows members for the environment and their surrounding community. It is an opportunity to experience a tangible product of hard work and dedication. “My involvement in WA Grows helped me make unlikely friends and build closer, more meaningful relationships with teachers who I did not expect to,” said Rama-Krishnan. “It opened my eyes to the impact of service and how I made a new community with people I serve with and for.”

Ms. Lecesne and Brendan Bagwell tend to the beds in the greenhouse.

Growing A Following

Active on social media, the WA Grows regularly posts Instagram updates on the garden beds, possible service opportunities and gardening jokes to nurture interest of the students following the account. Brendan Bagwell ‘20 created these posters using classic posters as a way to garner more attention for the Instagram.