By Rediet Tadele
THBG Staff
One of the reasons New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill is so special is its many collaborations with community organizations. This summer, staff had the opportunity to partner with Girls Inc., a national nonprofit organization that encourages all girls to be “Strong, Smart, and Bold” through direct service and advocacy.
Three Girls Inc. participants — Adaysia (16), Alia (16), and Amber (15) — joined New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill for “externships,” which place girls at local organizations where they have the opportunity to gain professional skills while being exposed to new topics that could mold what they want to do in the future.
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill fosters wonder and curiosity about nature, while also being a hub to learn about plants and gardening. New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill’s staff’s aim was to cultivate an experience where students got hands-on experience while continuously learning about plants.
In July, based on their interests, Adaysia and Alia joined the Horticulture Department, while Amber was placed with Youth Education staff.
Adaysia
Adaysia plans on becoming a History major in the future, and before working at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill did not have much of a background with plants or gardening. As such, the externship here opened her eyes to a whole new world of gardening. With Alia, her role included sorting seeds, labeling, and helping with the planting. An important skill that Adaysia gained from her experience was patience. With gardening, it takes some time to see the fruits of your labor, and she learned a lot of patience because of this.
Alia
Alia worked with Adaysia in the Horticulture department and primarily worked on sorting seeds, labeling, and planting. Alia like Adaysia did not have much of a history with plants and gardening but was interested in doing something outdoors. Her experience here has made her interested in starting her own garden and growing food at home now that she knows more about plants and gardening. Some of the highlights of her experience were learning about the different types of plants especially, the ‘corpse plant’ we have at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. Outside of the plant knowledge she gained, she also felt that she learned a lot about facing your fears. They often came across bugs when gardening, and as someone that doesn’t like bugs, it was a fear that she overcame.
Amber
Amber wants to work as a pediatrician when she’s older and wanted to be placed in a department where she would work with children. As such, she worked under Youth Education in the Education department where she helped the Youth Education staff with classes. Amber also worked on different exploration stations that would teach children the difference between Cacti and succulents. During her time at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, she learned a lot of communication and team-building skills, as well as research skills from working on the exploration stations.
We are so grateful for this partnership with Girls Inc. and hope to continue this next year.
