On Thursday, July 9th the Buchanan YMCA classes was busy in the Rosa Parks Upper Garden with Ms. Serena Squash. After taking roll, the class talked about what plants need to survive. They talked about how sunlight is absorbed through the plants leaves, and water is taken into the plant by being absorbed by its roots. They learned that plants need good soil which contains minerals for nutrients. These minerals dissolve into the water in the ground. This is the same water that is taken in by the roots. Finally they learned that air is taken in through the plants leaves. 
After more discussion about what animals need to survive, they talked about insects and why they are important. Everyone went around the garden looking for insects: rolly-pollys, worms, beetles, butterflies, ladybugs, praying mantis, and others.
A highlight of the morning was checking out the chicken coop and seeing how many eggs were there.
Later that day, a class from Prince Hall Learning Center harvested some giant leeks and carrots from the garden. What a treat!
for more photos, see our Flickr Photostream here.