A Week of Growth, Gratitude, and Seeds 🌱
- Feb 13
- 2 min read
This past week was one of those weeks that reminds me exactly why I do this work.
First, I’m honored to now be an official member of the 4-H Advisory Board through Michigan 4-H. It feels incredibly meaningful to serve in a deeper way and help strengthen youth programming in our community.
We also hosted a Valentine’s Exchange Party that was pure joy. The kids exchanged valentines, then played inside and outside, listened to beautiful plant music, and spent time tinkering with tools. Some took things apart. Some carefully put things back together. Others practiced patiently with hammer and nails. It was one of those days where curiosity led the way and everyone found their own rhythm.
I also had a wonderful coffee meeting with an amazing community member (she prefers to stay private 😊), and left feeling so encouraged by the quiet champions who support this work behind the scenes. I am very excited to see where a partnership with her & her family might lead us!
Later in the week, I met with the Kaleva Garden Club to talk about partnering on our Native Seedlings to Stewardship Project, funded by a grant from the Michigan Alliance for Environmental & Outdoor Education. Their enthusiasm and willingness to collaborate - including sharing knowledge and seeds - is such a gift.
Then we kicked off our very first project meet-up!
Using 4-H curriculum, we dove into learning about seeds, native plants, and cold stratification. We built the growing tent we’ll start using next month and explored what’s inside a seed. The kids examined the flowers we’ll be planting and tested two different cold stratification methods:
• The paper towel & refrigerator method
• The milk jug method (shared by our new garden club partners!)
The Garden Club even provided us with additional seeds we couldn’t order — including some very special milkweed seeds 🖤
To make it even more magical, our PlantWave device was playing music generated from one of the plants at the Maple Grove Township Community Center while we worked. Science, wonder, and beauty all in one space.
Before everyone left, the kids planted wheatgrass seeds in glass jars (thank you, Nicole Renne!) so they could take something home and watch roots grow and grass sprout. Wheatgrass is simple, resilient, and perfect for growing in winter — a small reminder that growth is always happening, even in the quiet seasons.
This project is such a beautiful collaboration between:
• NoMi Forest Explorers
• Michigan Alliance for Environmental & Outdoor Education
• Michigan 4-H
• Maple Grove Township Community Center
• Kaleva Garden Club
• MI Family Engagement Center
The MI Family Engagement Center supplied incredible tools — including the PlantWave, field guides, and magnifying glasses — that are already enriching our programming.
It truly takes a village. My heart feels SUPER full.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to every single person who has supported, believed in, donated to, partnered with, helped plan/organize, and encouraged this work.
If you’d like to learn more or support our work:
We are planting seeds — in the soil and in young hearts — and I cannot wait to see what grows. 🌱🥰
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