Tucked in the corner of Gainesville’s Sidney Lanier Center campus between rows of vegetables and strawberries, students nurture a growing garden — and blossom alongside it.
The school, which serves around 150 students with special needs, uses the garden as a resource and educational tool. The garden is a part of the school’s “Transition to Life” program, which focuses on vocational training, communication and living experiences for young adults between ages 18 and 22.
With the help of Sidney Lanier staff and local volunteers, students learn to harvest a variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the year. They also learn how to prepare the produce on their own.
Much of what’s grown in the garden is served in the school’s cafeteria and to families in the local community.
The program allows students with special needs to remain in school after graduation and continue developing workplace and life skills, according to Sidney Lanier principal Royce Kamman.
“The garden is one part of the opportunities that we provide the kids to learn job skills,” Kamman said.
The transition program also features a professional kitchen where students make dog biscuits, a recycling program and a home living program.
The garden recently received $3,500 through the Whole Foods Kids Garden grant, which gives schools money to grow their gardens. The grant will help Sidney Lanier expand its grounds as an agricultural and educational space.
Support from local organizations has also helped expand the effort.
Sidney Lanier works in tandem with the Gainesville Garden Club, which helps other Alachua County schools run their gardens. The club’s “master gardeners” volunteer at Sidney Lanier every Tuesday morning, providing tools, soil and hands-on help to students and staff.
Blanca Albeno McNab, the committee chair for the garden club’s youth program, said the most rewarding part has been working with the students.
“They are very curious and want to learn,” Albeno McNab said. “It’s really good for us to teach them and stimulate their knowledge and love for gardening.”
Another volunteer from the club, Mark Zadra, said they’ve seen students who’ve never gardened before get more excited each week to harvest crops. Zadra recalled one student being nonverbal when they began working at the garden. Now the student excitedly greets the volunteers every Tuesday.
The growth hasn’t gone unnoticed by families, either. Carol Carlisle, a 70-year-old Gainesville resident, has watched her grandson, Nathan, develop through the program.
Carlisle said she’s seen Nathan become more self-sufficient, learning how to fold laundry, run a washing machine, cook and garden.
However, the most impactful thing she’s witnessed has been his relationship with Gloria Valladeres, a Sidney Lanier teacher he calls “Ms. V.”
Nathan has become more expressive since working with Valladeres, Carlisle said. Usually, when he gets upset, Carlisle tells him to sit and think about why. Since joining the program, Nathan sits for only a few minutes before pointing to his smile to let his nana know he’s happy — a strategy Valladeres taught him.
“She’s so good with him and patient. I think she has helped him get more confident in himself,” Carlisle said. “It’s just wonderful what I see him learning there.”
Nathan will turn 22 in October, which means he’ll age out of the school — but the program and Ms. V have left a lasting impact on him, giving him skills he can carry into the rest of his life. Carlisle hopes he’ll continue to garden, and she said she plans to plant crops with him this summer.
For Valladeres, her philosophy is all about the care given to students. She compared it to taking care of seeds. Seeds start low in the soil, she said, but as you take care of them, providing the resources they need, they’ll continue to grow.
“It’s a really beautiful thing to cultivate, pun intended, not just with growing our food but growing our relationships,” Valladeres said.
At the Sidney Lanier Center, Valladeres, her students and volunteers will continue to grow both.
Contact Logan McBride at lmcbride@alligator.org. Follow him on X @logandmcbride.
Logan McBride is a fourth-year journalism student and this summer's general assignment reporter. He previously served as a reporter for the city/county commission, K-12 education and track & field. Logan enjoys watching sports, going to the movies and playing basketball. When he's not working, you can find him on adventures with his friends, cuddling with his cat Max, or with his girlfriend.
