Garden Educator Spotlight: Milly Roberts
Milly Roberts (she/her) is the Garden Educator at Henderson Upper School, Higginson-Lewis, King Open School, and Graham & Parks School. Find out more about Milly below!
What’s been your proudest moment as a garden educator?
I love knowing that we are cultivating memories at school that students are carrying home with a smile and sharing with their family and beyond. I once ran into a parent at a Cafe in Cambridge who told me all her daughter talks about when she gets home from school is, Garden Class.
What’s one important skill you believe gardening teaches kids that they can use outside the garden?
Gardening teaches students to care for something outside their traditional realm of “caring for others.” They learn that their actions can support (or harm) other living things. They play a role in creating more life, in their very school yard. This is an empowering lesson!
How do you navigate teaching students who may not initially be interested in gardening?
Milly performing at the first annual Boston Area School Garden Conference!
Gardening Class is really outdoor learning. I have never found a student uninterested in the breadth of lessons in an outdoor classroom, it’s simply the subject of exploring what it means to be alive on earth: meeting animals, exploring soil through digging, moving around in fresh air, tasting new foods, sketching, singing, or planting their very own seed.
What’s your favorite “aha!” moment you’ve witnessed when a student finally connects with the garden?
There’s an injured bee that had been recuperating in our marigolds through the fall. This bee has captivated even the most distractible of students. They’ve been drawn to find the bee, check in on it over the course of a few weeks, use gentle hands around its home and calmly observe this new-found friend.
Who is Milly outside of CitySprouts?
Milly smelling fresh basil at our MLK garden.
What’s your favorite place to explore in Boston/Cambridge?
I love Gardens of Cambridgeport in the Springtime, especially the bulbs that burst at the corner of Putnum and Magazine.
What’s one item on your bucket list that you’re determined to check off soon?
Hiking the Rockies on the Colorado Trail!
What’s one fashion trend you would love to see make a comeback?
Skorts. Maybe they never did trend.. But what a practical style piece.
Milly’s Favorites
Go-to comfort snack? - Graham crackers & apple butter
Favorite board game or video game? - Monkey ball on a game cube
Cats or dogs? - Goats or chickens?