Garden of Love: A Year of Growth

This spring, the Healthy ROOTS Initiative and its community partner, Mt. Olive Head Start in Columbus County, celebrated two exciting milestones: Planting Day and Harvest Day. These events brought together children, educators, families, Extension partners, and staff to celebrate the success of the center’s growing Farm to ECE efforts and the transformation of an ordinary outdoor space into a vibrant learning environment.

What began as an empty courtyard at the start of the 2025-2026 school year has blossomed into a thriving outdoor classroom featuring six raised garden beds, a pollinator garden, ten fruit-bearing trees and bushes, and an oversized outdoor chalkboard. The project was inspired by the vision of Center Director Lamont Grate, who dreamed of creating an outdoor learning environment where children could explore, discover, and grow. Bringing that vision to life was made possible through the support of many partners, including Columbus County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent Meleah Evers, whose longstanding relationship with the center helped lay the foundation for this collaborative effort.

The work at Mt. Olive was first highlighted in a fall 2025 article documenting the construction of the raised beds and establishment of the garden space. Since then, children and families have rolled up their sleeves and become active gardeners. During Planting Day, children planted carrot, radish, pea, and lettuce seeds and transplanted broccoli and strawberry plants into the garden beds. Members of the Healthy ROOTS team also spent time at the center planting fig, persimmon, and pear trees, along with blackberry bushes, helping create a space that will continue to provide learning opportunities and fresh foods for years to come.

Just a few months later, the garden was overflowing with produce and ready for Harvest Day.

Children eagerly harvested lettuce, carrots, radishes, kale, broccoli, strawberries, and peas directly from the garden beds. For many, it was their first opportunity to pick fruits and vegetables they had planted, watered, and cared for themselves. After harvesting, the produce was prepared for classroom taste tests, giving children the chance to sample the foods they had helped grow from seed to harvest.

The excitement was contagious. Children proudly showed off their harvests, educators celebrated the garden’s success, and families enjoyed seeing firsthand how gardening had become part of their children’s learning experience. The harvest was so abundant that there was enough produce to package and send home with educators and staff.

The success of Mt. Olive’s garden demonstrates the power of community partnerships to support nutrition education, hands-on science learning, family engagement, and positive food experiences for young children. It also reflects the leadership and commitment of Southeastern Community Action Partnership, Mt. Olive Head Start staff, NC State Extension, and community partners working together to create meaningful opportunities for children and families.

The CALS Media team has been documenting the garden’s journey from the very beginning, and a video highlighting the transformation is currently in production. The final product will showcase not only the remarkable growth of the garden space but also the collaborative partnerships and shared vision to strengthen early childhood health, learning, and access to fresh foods in communities across North Carolina.