By Zoe Yim, Social Media Intern

A green chaos before my eyes, last Friday, I felt overwhelmed by what seemed to be a micro-jungle at Wedgewood Gardens. But to some, it appears that this greenery is more like an organized pattern of abundance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Look tomato!” calls Christina Bentrup, garden coordinator for Nashville Food project.

Eggplant, tomato, squash, red noodle bean, and - the plant that gardeners were most excited about – bitter gourd are ready to pick.

The Nepalese speaking Bhutanese dexterously pick their crops from their designated plots. Carrying plastic and vinyl totes, colorful, lush vegetables go from bush to bag.

It all seems so natural to them. In those moments, when I’m taking pictures of the Nepalese Bhutanese immigrants, I forget that I’m in Nashville, Tennessee. It seems like we could be anywhere – even Nepal.

 

This gardener proudly shows his red noodle beans.

Badri Adhikari hoes the ground before he transfer a tree to this plot.

 

Leela Rai picks her tomatoes.

 

I think it’s symbolic of what we’re trying to do – creating a place that feels like home, says Lauren Bailey, director of agricultural programs.

Many of these gardeners had an agrarian lifestyle before coming to the U.S. Allowing them to build upon the skills that they already have, empowers them.

At the garden off of Blackman Road, refugees from Burma also seem to be at home. This morning, they were looking for pests, making trellises and mulching by layering hay to keep weeds out and moisture in the soil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Zoe Yim, Social Media Intern

 

July 8, 2014 - Tuesday at Stonebrook

Ten students came. Well, eleven, if you count the five year-old who came with his brother. Students are elementary and middle schoolers.

“All right, everyone! Get into groups of three, and answer this question, ‘Do you think freedom is free or does it come at a cost?’”

 

 

 

This week’s icebreaker is themed with a post-July Fourth tinge. Ms. Qena Armstrong, RISE volunteer, typically facilitates such questions. Armstrong has taught classes for almost one year, since September 2013.

As she finishes the icebreaker and hurries through a quick vocabulary lesson, a guest, Sisavanh Houghton, brings out her canvas.

 

 

Exquisite Nashville

Houghton is a part of the Exquisite Nashville project, hosted by the Frist Center.

The creators of the project are interested in the way that different cultures blend. Many immigrant groups find their home and have changed the city to have a surprisingly multicultural feel. The project incorporates the Exquisite Corpse.

Different community partners have a piece of the artwork, but none of them know what the whole looks like. After completion, the exhibition will be March-July 2015.

The children lean forward to look at Houghton’s canvases. She finished these Pollock-like canvases over the weekend. She instructs the children that they will be sketching animal shapes onto the canvases.

July 10, 2014 - Thursday at Stonebrook

Squeegee in hand, the Hip Hues assistant pushes the vert green ink across the screen. Children circled around her, the assistant produces a white t-shirt with a RISE logo.

After her instructions, RISE students form a line as they compete to be first in line to make their very own t-shirt.

 

 

 

 

After making t-shirts, students and Qena Armstrong, the volunteer teacher, congregate to the tennis court playing a short math game.

For the first time, students in the RISE after school program have the opportunity to participate in programming during the summer, thanks to a grant from the Metro Development and Housing Authority (MDHA). On Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout June and July, students at the Stonebrook RISE location participate in a variety of math and reading activities to keep them from the dreaded “summer slide,” in which students forget part of what they have learned over the school year. They have also had the opportunity to participate in several field trips. The students have gone to the Edmondson Pike Library, where they observed a series of entertaining science experiments and then checked out books of their choosing. They also have gone to the Wedgewood Community Garden to learn about eating healthy fruits and vegetables and harvest some of the Nashville Food Project’s tomatoes and okra! This summer, the program has a concentrated focus on health and wellness, so these outings really drive home in an experiential way the importance of eating well.

CRIT is also partnering with the Frist to create works of art around the idea of shared culture, under the title, “Exquisite Nashville.” Our students have already created two art pieces, with two more to go! Our teaching artist is Sisavanh Houghton, who also teaches at MTSU.

Thanks to MDHA, Nashville Food Project, the Frist, Second Harvest, and the Church of the Redeemer for making this all possible!