Today was the first of several YMCA of the Triangle Summer Camp visits to Simple Gifts Community Garden planned this year. Todays visiting camp was “CILT Camp” (Campers in Leadership Training), comprised of teens in rising 9th – 10th grade who are looking for opportunities to serve and lead. It’s located at the Kraft Family YMCA in Apex.

We started with some garden trivia (eg: Is a strawberry a berry? … hint – no, believe it or not. It’s an aggregate fruit). Then we looked at all the different types of forks we use (digging forks, pitchforks, etc.) and talked about how they are different and for what purpose. After a quick tour of the garden itself, we got into some hands-on training and a chance to do some actual garden work. Carl led the potato crew, and Penny led the garlic crew. This group knocked it out of the park, harvesting a full row of potatoes (five five-gallon buckets full!) and then a full row of garlic, including braiding to prepare them for being hung to dry. Everyone got to sample one of our scrumptious strawberries (not a berry, remember) at the end, which got rave reviews.

We look forward to welcoming more YMCA Camp visits this summer. Great kids!

This was the most fun Y Camp trip ever!
– A visiting camper