The Old Fool was introduced last week to the Campus Center for Young Child Care at Goshen College. The children in the campus were being introduced to care of the environment by helping to plant a rain garden at its Northside campus at Arbor Ridge. The Goshen College Mennonite Church is a cosponsor of CCYC.
Water seeping from a lake resulted in too much water and made an area of the campus too swampy to mow. Eleven volunteers from the church were adult partners to aid the children in introducing plants which will reduce the water and add beauty. The Old Fool volunteered to be an amateur photographer. The first phase of the project required adults to use shovels to remove grass and topsoil.
The children marched from their playground until a teacher shouted, “red light.” They stopped immediately,
four children to one adulot
The children were welcomed by the adults
The children were divided into groups of to work with an adult.
Dirty hands are a bonus to be proud of, and to make one happy.
A slightly elevated part of the garden required some compost. Kate Aschliman, recruiter of adult volunteers from College Church, brought the news that the truck bringing the compost had broken down. So the end of the project was delayed for a day.
