Teen Testimonial

Alexandria Fields Bronx Helpers December 2007

A few weeks ago, we, the Bronx Helpers went to Brook Park. The first activity we did was discussing the type of plants that were in the garden. The host, Harry Bubbins, had us taste some of the plant leaves that we were viewing. There were spearmint, licorice, tomatoes, radishes, and peppermint. I tasted all of them but I didn’t like any of them but the tomatoes. Even the tomatoes tasted kind of tart, though. I wouldn’t even have tasted half of the plants there but the other Bronx Helpers seemed to like it so I gave them a try.
After tasting the plant leaves, we moved onto harvesting some of the vegetables. It was freezing so I wanted to be working as hard as possible to get warm. I raked the plants and broke the soil and then when I was done I switched to shoveling. It was hard work but it was keeping me warm so I kind of enjoyed it. The other Bronx Helpers started placing hay on top of the soil when we were all finished harvesting. We had harvested potatoes, radishes, tomatoes, and some other vegetables. Jennifer and the other facilitators made a hot stew out of the harvest while we finished our jobs.
When I finished helping the Bronx Helpers place the hay on top of the soil, I took a break. I went to go sit by the campfire. I had never sat around a bonfire before. While I was sitting there, Harry asked some of the others and I that were finished to help the boys stack the wood they had just chopped. When I was finished with that, he asked me to return the shovels and rakes neatly to the tool shed.
When I had finished returning all of the tools, Jennifer said that we were going to walk through the labyrinth. I looked around I didn’t see anything but wood, the garden and some trees. Then they led us over to this concrete lot across the garden and then I saw it. It was a maze that had been colorfully painted onto the pavement. I thought it was kind of weird that we were actually going to walk through it, especially because it was such a narrow path. Jennifer had then asked Stephanie, one of the Bronx Helpers to lead us through and as we started going, it became sort of fun. Then it got confusing at a point and I couldn’t wait until we got out.
As soon as we did, the stew was ready and we all took pieces of vegetables out of it to eat. It was delicious. I especially like the potatoes. Also it really warmed me up. Harry then told me that since he saw that I was working the hardest, when it came time to eat toasted marshmallows, I could have the first one. We went over to a pile of twigs and he showed me which one to pick off to use to toast the marshmallows. After I chose one, we walked over to the fire and he showed us how to toast them. I never had toasted marshmallows before. They were so good. I had to be careful not to burn it though, which was difficult.
After that was done, we said good-bye to everyone there and when we walked back, I parted with the group at the train station to go home. Brook Park was a really good experience. I had done things that I never did before, such as harvesting plants and eating toasted marshmallows. Even though it was so cold, I enjoyed it and look forward to doing it again sometime.