Brielle & Jamie: CitySprouts' Spring 2017 Interns

Brielle and Jamie, our current program interns for Spring 2017, share the same passions for holistic wellbeing and the natural environment. They are very eager to start co-teaching in the school gardens and would like to share with us some of the reasons why they love being a part of the CitySprouts team. Hey there, I'm Brielle! I am currently a senior at Lesley University majoring in Holistic Psychology and I am interning at CitySprouts this Spring! There are so many reasons why I already love working with the CitySprouts team. Two of my biggest passions are working with children and guiding people towards a more holistic lifestyle through health and fitness. Through my studies and knowledge about health and the natural world, I think that teaching students about gardening and sustainable agriculture are vital for both the health of students and the future of humanity. Not only do the gardens teach children about the importance of healthy diet and lifestyle, they also provide students with hands-on information about organic growing, which is a very important skill that they can use throughout their entire lives. Moreover, I think that the gardens allow students find a greater connection to the natural world, which can be healing on all levels of wellbeing and encourages children to spend more time outside. As a whole, I love everything that CitySprouts is doing with the school systems and what they stand for and I hope that others can follow their lead. I am so grateful to be a part of the CitySprouts team and I am beyond excited to start working in the gardens!

Hi everyone, my name is Jamie. I am a senior at Lesley University studying Environmental Science, Global Studies and Fine Arts. Working with the Citysprouts team has given me a new perspective of education and urban agriculture. Sustainability has always been a major goal for me in both my personal and professional lives, and being able to incorporate sustainability into connecting with children through agriculture is a dream come true. While gaining perspective in the world of outdoor education, both the learning and teaching sides, I believe my experience with CitySprouts will give me a solid foundation of how to approach my goals. Through my learning experience at Lesley, I have realized the dire need for a reconnection between humans and the natural world, understanding what resources go into the products that we use and the food that we eat. CitySprouts' mission to help connect students to urban agriculture allows for a new foundation of sustainability through education, one that will increase the wellbeing of both cities and environments along with the people residing in them. I sincerely hope that this kind of work will spread through cities across the United States, creating a healthier learning environment for kids everywhere.