About
Hi, my name is Cassandra Gordon. I am currently 16, and I have been gardening since I was 10. I love to grow my own food and am an active member of both Girl Scouts and Scouts BSA. I created this website as a tool for gardeners to use as a part of my Gold Award project. The Gold Award is the highest level of achievement in Girl Scouts and it focuses on helping the community and leaving a lasting impact. I hope that this website is helpful to you and that you are able to utilize all of the information it contains.
In 2014, Troop 6 Quincy Eagle Scout, Alex Samsel, built a vegetable garden behind the Houghs Neck Congregational Church. The next year, sponsored by Katie's Krops, I was asked to lead the church's youth group in the planting, watering, and harvesting of the garden, earning my Girl Scout Bronze Award in the process. Katie's Krops is a nonprofit organization focused on empowering young growers to plant vegetable gardens and donate the harvest to organizations in their communities that help people in need. Together, in that first year, we harvested and donated over 300 pounds of fresh vegetables to Interfaith Social Services in Quincy, our local food pantry. The garden has been continued by the church's youth group since then and their produce has increased yearly.
The next year, I was chosen by Katie's Krops to attend a three day camp hosted at the WP Rawl Farm in Pelion, South Carolina. The goal of the camp was to provide an opportunity for like minded Katie's Krops gardeners to learn new skills, make new friends, and grow the dream that is Katie's Krops. This goal was certainly accomplished. Over my three days there I leaned so much. I was able to learn about how a commercial farm is run, see innovative solutions to common gardening problems, and try lots of fresh, delicious food. After returning from the trip, I was inspired to expand and improve the garden. With the help of both Katie's Krops and the church, I was able to add three new planters and a green been teepee. With the new planting space, we were now able to expand our produce to include herbs as well as fruits and vegetables and were able to increase our harvest.
After that year, I passed the trowel on to the next grower. Houghs Neck Congregational Church continues grow and donate hundred of pounds of produce to feed the hungry.
The next year, I was chosen by Katie's Krops to attend a three day camp hosted at the WP Rawl Farm in Pelion, South Carolina. The goal of the camp was to provide an opportunity for like minded Katie's Krops gardeners to learn new skills, make new friends, and grow the dream that is Katie's Krops. This goal was certainly accomplished. Over my three days there I leaned so much. I was able to learn about how a commercial farm is run, see innovative solutions to common gardening problems, and try lots of fresh, delicious food. After returning from the trip, I was inspired to expand and improve the garden. With the help of both Katie's Krops and the church, I was able to add three new planters and a green been teepee. With the new planting space, we were now able to expand our produce to include herbs as well as fruits and vegetables and were able to increase our harvest.
After that year, I passed the trowel on to the next grower. Houghs Neck Congregational Church continues grow and donate hundred of pounds of produce to feed the hungry.
I have created this website as part of my Gold Award project to be able to provide a long lasting resource for young gardeners to reference and use, and for schools and programs to teach from. I have included a curriculum with the hope that teachers and leaders will use it to inform young minds about the benefits and beauty of gardening. While creating this website, I asked many of my friends and family for healthy recipes they remember from their childhoods. I have put these recipes together both on the website and as a downloadable document with the hope that families will give them a try and share the benefits of healthy eating. I know many people feel that home gardening is something that requires constant attention and lots of space. It is my hope that with the information provided within these pages that families will come to realize that home gardening is achievable for anyone, anywhere.
In 2021, as part of my Eagle Scout project, I have returned to my roots. The Eagle Scout project is a major part of earing the highest and most prestigious rank of Eagle Scout in Scouts BSA. For my project, I made another major expansion and renovation to the garden. I expanded the garden and added new raised planters inside of two of the current planters to better utilize the center space. I also transplanted a scallion plant that was living outside the fence of the garden to its new home in its own planter within the garden. Besides this, I also bought ten grow bags for the garden to be able to easily grow potatoes in and I prepared the garden for its grow season. This garden has been a part of my life since elementary school, and I hope it will continue to grow until I am well out of college.
In 2021, as part of my Eagle Scout project, I have returned to my roots. The Eagle Scout project is a major part of earing the highest and most prestigious rank of Eagle Scout in Scouts BSA. For my project, I made another major expansion and renovation to the garden. I expanded the garden and added new raised planters inside of two of the current planters to better utilize the center space. I also transplanted a scallion plant that was living outside the fence of the garden to its new home in its own planter within the garden. Besides this, I also bought ten grow bags for the garden to be able to easily grow potatoes in and I prepared the garden for its grow season. This garden has been a part of my life since elementary school, and I hope it will continue to grow until I am well out of college.