Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

Imperfect-ing the Perfect: Nurturing Roots to Grow Gardens
It's those eerily silent and crisp mornings, staring out at the dew drops sparkling on the blades of grass as the drowsy sky shoots a ray out of the horizon, while we embrace the warmth of a cup of coffee, our nose tingles from the sharp smell of morning, and water wells up in our eyes from the chilly air. Those perfect moments. Standing under an umbrella held out in the rain of anxiety and stresses in the world, suddenly nothing is out of reach.
These perfect moments are provided by healthy natural ecosystems in which the individual well-being of one part of the system depends on the functioning of all of the other parts. Therefore, when we care for our environment, we care for ourselves, and in such symbiosis, we become Perfect Moment Creators. With that, my Nicodemus Wilderness Project emphasized this interdependency and was designed to combat the prominence of the urban landscape and provide students in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District with an escape from their air conditioned-classrooms, manicured lawns, and square bushes, while empowering them to be their own Perfect Moment Creators by educating them on the potential of California native plants and pollinators to combat climate change through restoration of biodiversity.
I am Addison, a high school junior from Sacramento, California, and I have been passionate about environmentalism since I learned about climate change in sixth grade. Ever since, I have been dedicated to climate justice and equity endeavors that deepen my passion for community engagement and collaboration. Throughout my project, I have stood by the similar values and mission of the Nicodemus Wilderness Project in empowering youth through environmental stewardship. I have seen the passion and determination of the youth population to get involved in the climate movement. The fierce exhilaration and enthusiasm is unmatched, and it excites me more than anything to be a part of this change! Beyond the thrill of change-making, I love the climate movement because of its ability to bring people together to collectively chip away at a larger challenge and my project was one of many examples of that.
Aside from learning about the detrimental issue of climate change, I also became interested in stewardship through running. Miles with just my breath and footsteps showed me the mentally and physically healing abilities of nature, and I believe that everyone should have access to a natural remedy like that. Running took me on a new trail in which my separate paths as a nature-lover and stressed high school student purposefully converged. Realizing the connection between my passions for climate justice and student mental health, I was fascinated by the work I could do to combat both issues.
I certainly did not run on this new trail alone as I completed this project alongside my environmental club at school, the Environmental Impact Club, which received funding for our native pollinator gardens project from a $5,000 climate equity grant offered by a local newspaper. My club received the grant in December 2023, we began working on the project in January 2024, and wrapped up the process in early May 2024.
The project would involve consulting with school principals about growing native plant gardens on their school campuses, ordering materials and plants, assembling and preparing gardening beds, and nurturing them after they were established. With a potential to expand climate literacy, restore biodiversity, and peacefully promote environmental stewardship, I was excited to see our ideas bloom and flower.
My first steps involved communication and organizing. I created a survey to be sent out by my school principal who would send it out to other principals in the Folsom Cordova Unified School district. I received responses from three interested schools: Sandra J. Gallardo Elementary School, Mitchell Middle School, and Sutter Middle School. With our resources, my club and I were elated to be able to work closely with these three schools for the next 6 months. Soon after, we visited and evaluated the three sites and discussed with the principals where they envisioned native plant gardens. Sandra J. Gallardo Elementary School had flourishing gardening beds of their own already, and we ended up adding one more metal bed and planting the natives alongside the bushes and trees they already had along their paved walkways. Sutter Middle School received four beds, two by their outdoor lunch area and two in an outdoor quad area. Both sites were originally dry soil covered with mulch. Mitchell Middle School had an empty rectangular space of gravel next to a portable classroom where we built 6 gardening beds, and an additional bed adjacent to their school garden.
From April to early May, my club members and I spent exhilarating Sunday mornings and hours after school days assembling gardening beds, pouring bags of soil, transporting, and planting succulents and California natives. Yet, growing this garden of a project didn't have any shortage of weed growth. Maybe handling our grant money through the school could've been smoother, the quality of the soil we bought wasn't exquisite, and communications between multiple principals and teachers were complicated, but it was through those experiences, that I learned the importance of establishing and nurturing healthy soil. At the root of it all, I found the flowers that bloomed above were made possible because of the nutrients provided by the soil underneath. No matter how high I may try to reach for the sun at times, I couldn't grow without the friendships, parental guidance, and love that support me everyday. Recognizing that allows Perfect Moments and appreciation for nature to prevail over superficial perfection.
Similar sentiments can be realized by students with native gardens on their well-deserved mental health breaks in their school days, in addition to being valuable hubs of biodiversity. Whereas manicured lawns reinforce an idea of superficial perfection, often associated with school environments demanding regurgitation of facts, and getting swamped by understanding the world rationally, native plant gardens show students where their abstract, imperfect ideas and desire to explore have a place in the world. Fostering the next generation of environmental stewards starts with exposure to the diverse possibilities and power in our natural surroundings and surrender to the imperfection we've blindly over-perfected, to create more Perfect Moments and thus appreciation for the natural environment, and support holistic well-being.
As the prospects for planting future native gardens look up, I will continue chasing and creating Perfect Moments with nature because my generation's mental health has dwindled with confinement to indoor environments, and a lack of exposure to healthy, outdoor environments. With small moments of appreciation like this, I believe the climate crisis, and the student mental health crisis are different sides of the same coin that can be tackled at the same time. One native garden at a time, there is potential to grow a healthier and more resilient environment and generation of youth. This project has undoubtedly deepened my roots and dedication to environmental stewardship, and I am excited to hear how students interact with the gardens in the coming school year, as well as embark on future stewardship endeavors like this one.