Photo By Amy Phillips | Colleen Murray showing Fort Hunter Liggett Child Youth Services kids the various types...... read more read more
Self-professed life-long gardener, Colleen Murray, the U.S. Army Garrison Family Advocacy Program Manager (fancy title for ‘social worker’) is planting the seed and spreading her passion with Fort Hunter Liggett youth and co-workers.
“I love everything about plants,” said Murray. Her father had a small garden where they lived in the Poconos, Pennsylvania, and instilled the growing passion in her at a very young age. “I used to run through the rows of corn fields and sit there, and I just could not believe it!”
When she was eight, “I dug my own garden, maybe eight by eight feet, and by the time I was twelve, I had a half an acre garden,” said Murray. She reminisced about how her grandmother and mother preserved food. Murray grew the family’s food until she left for college.
The first project she did with children in the Child Youth Services (CYS) Multi-Age Facility and Teen Center was in April. Murray taught them how to grow sunflower, peas, and radish sprouts in a plastic tray with a little bit of dirt. They learned the growing process, and the responsibility of seeing the project through from seeds to sprouts. They also learned how you can reuse everyday items, like the trays that collect runoff water from pots as a growing container.
“I just think it’s a healthy, interesting thing to do (planting),” said Murray. “Kids have a natural curiosity on how things work.”
They learned the importance of nurturing seedlings and seeing the fruits of their labor within a week. “I learned that the flower bulb will grow anywhere, like in the ground or in a pot,” said Rebecca, one of the CYS youth.
“Some of them ate the sprouts, and some grew out the sunflowers,” said Murray. She adds that sprouts are healthy additions to salads and sandwiches, and a great snack. And some faced the consequences of what happens when you don’t take care of the seeds - dead plants.
Murray recently received a box of gladiola bulbs from the Hesperia Hall in Bradley, California, during a farmer’s market day. She shared them with the FHL youth and started a new project. This time, she used water bottles with the tops cut off as the growing container.
Murray has also been sharing her plants and extensive knowledge with co-workers. “I’ve never met anyone who loves plants as much as Colleen,” said co-worker Augusta Vargas. “She dreams up these elaborate garden schemes and amazing self-sustainable produce habitats!”
There are discussions with the Directorate of Public Works to create a community garden, and Murray is ready to provide her expertise. She owns a plant nursery in southern California and knows a thing or two about setting up and maintaining a garden. Murray is developing a special portable and squirrel-proof plant container and is very excited to contribute.
“I’m always excited to show somebody about how to grow things because it is amazing and it feeds you,” said Murray.
| Date Taken: | 08.12.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2022 14:20 |
| Story ID: | 427164 |
| Location: | FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, US |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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