Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

Itâ€™s a simple idea, to give back and receive the smiles, the tears, the hugs, and the big thank you. Working in a community garden for the past five years transforming an old junk yard into a beautiful piece of Eden, Iâ€™ve spent most of my summers teaching children about gardening (using music) and how the smallest seeds grow to be the biggest plants. Creating activities where we use music to teach about plants, we sing and dance at the garden while learning how many seeds an apple carries or how big a sunflower will grow. Giving them the opportunity to grow there own plants in the garden and watch it grow as they come back every week and sing about their flowers or become amazed at something as simple as watching tomatoes grow on little trees. Seeing them so happy, smiling, dancing, singing, and comparing plants, I realize how much influence Iâ€™ve had on them just by showing them these tiny seeds and simply playing guitar while singing to them. All this knowledge will one day allow them to give this to someone else. It reminds me how much motivation I was given when we showed up every weekend to clean just a little bit of scrap metal, lay down a couple of barrels of dirt, make a few garden beds, have our director tell us that one day someone will take home an apple, a pear, or some carrots all because we decided to contribute and give back to our community. In my mind this is what giving back is, to learn, do and show.
With education and further knowledge I plan to influence others as much as I can so one day like me they can grow up and make a difference. Since last year Iâ€™ve been going upstate and working on a real farm so that I can learn more about agriculture and perhaps one day use it as a profession. Going up state and learning about cultivation and different practices, I will be able to teach children more about agriculture. I also plan to further my education in music so I can continue teaching creatively at my local community garden so children will have a fun time learning about the petals on a flower.
Itâ€™s a simple idea, to give back and receive the smiles, the tears, the hugs, and the big thank you. Receiving this Scholarship will help me achieve my goals and help me plan out my future. College becomes the first step to perusing my dreams and having a profession where I can learn to give back.