Helping kids with autism learn ‘earth-to-table’ gardening

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When Pamia Coleman’s son was little, he was afraid of touching dirt, so she started gardening with him.

“I just saw how much he grew from practicing these things,” said Coleman, whose son has autism and is now a teenager.

“So, I really just wanted to share that with other children [who] are on the spectrum because a lot of times, these kids get left behind,” Coleman said.

Coleman, along with Latiaynna Tabb, are the duo behind Black Girls With Green Thumbs, a group that promotes self-sufficiency through gardening. One of their projects, Green Thumbs in Your School, takes lessons from Coleman’s experience raising her son.

For the past four years, Coleman has been sharing her experience teaching other kids gardening in Sarah Nicholson’s autistic support class at Emlen Elementary in Mount Airy, which Coleman’s son also attended as a middle schooler.

On an early spring day, the students in grades 3–5 are planting sunflower seeds in their mini-greenhouses made from clear water jugs. Placing dirt in the jugs, which are cut in half, they then water the soil and plant seeds. The kids are also harvesting microgreens they planted several weeks earlier, and doing a taste test with hummus, crackers and their favorite fruit — strawberries.

Coleman says while these kids may not be able to understand everything about climate change at this age, she wants to prepare them to be self-sufficient, and know where their food comes from so they have skills that could help in an uncertain future.

“A lot of kids, when you ask them where their food comes from, they say the supermarket,” said Coleman.

But 10-year-old Cameron Baker knows exactly how his food is grown.

“You put in soil, you put in seeds, you water it, and wait a few days and then it’ll grow,” explained Baker. “We have three plants at home, I water them once a week.”

Coleman said the larger impact of gardening means the food doesn’t have to get shipped from far away.

“We believe in our organization, that shortening that supply chain really matters, especially when it comes to carbon emissions.”

It’s a way to help kids connect to the earth and their food, as well as plant the seeds for future “climate fixers.”

“I think it’s really important for the kids to know that they have the ability to grow their own food if they just have a little bit of time, patience and love,” said Coleman.

It’s all a part of what she calls the “earth-to-table” experience.

For their teacher, Sarah Nicholson, it’s a hands-on lesson that goes beyond the art of gardening.

“It expands their vocabulary,” said Nicholson. “It helps them with critical thinking skills and domestic maintenance skills. They’re cleaning up, they’re taking care of things.”

She said one student comes in every morning, determined to water each plant. They also grow flowers, which they get excited to take home to their mothers, she said.

“The kids love these lessons,” Nicholson said. “They love sharing [the food] with everybody.”