NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Military families rolled up their sleeves to create a community garden as part of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance and Tennessee National Guard Child, Youth, and School Services’ first-ever Spring Garden Day on May 30.
Held at the Tennessee National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters, the event brought local military families together to sow seeds, arrange plants and learn hands-on gardening skills.
Tennessee National Guard Child and Youth Program Coordinator Payton Campagna used her passion for gardening and mutual connections with the USA to bring Spring Garden Day to life. She explained why it’s important for kids to learn gardening skills and understand the hands-on process.
“It is so easy for kids to eat food that is prepared for them and bought from the store. It is less easy for them to understand where it all comes from,” she said. “Getting them outside and in the dirt shows them, for example, that the ketchup they love was once whole tomatoes, and those tomatoes had to be planted by someone.”
USA Conservation Coordinator Maggie Sager recalled one boy’s enthusiasm.
“One boy was so excited to get home and plant more seeds,” she said. “He’d planted a small pot with wildflower seeds but had some leftover and couldn’t wait to plant them in the ground and see what kind of flowers popped up. It was so sweet to see how excited he got just thinking about getting to do more gardening at home.”
Military families often face unique challenges, including frequent relocations and deployments. The hope is that the community garden will provide a source of connection, stability and wellness for local military families.
“Providing opportunities like a community garden within a military community helps strengthen connections amongst military families,” Campagna said. “It helps create a sense of teamwork, a sense of purpose and a healthy lifestyle. These are things that remain important when a loved one in their family is deployed.”
Campagna envisions the garden as a peaceful retreat where military personnel and staff can step away and reconnect with nature. She also anticipates future events, including maintenance and cleanup days, to keep families engaged and caring for the space together.
Spring Garden Day is part of the USA’s Work Boots on the Ground flagship conservation program. The projects and community outreach events improve and enhance public access to the outdoors, conserve wildlife habitats, restore America’s parks and mentor youth in the outdoors.
Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA): The USA is a union-dedicated, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose members hunt, fish, shoot and volunteer their skills for conservation. The USA is uniting the union community through conservation to preserve North America’s outdoor heritage. For more information, visit www.unionsportsmen.org or connect on Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram.
Work Boots on the Ground (WBG): WBG is the USA’s flagship conservation program that brings together union members willing to volunteer their time and expertise to conservation projects that improve and enhance public access to the outdoors, conserve wildlife habitat, restore America’s parks and mentor youth in the outdoors. The USA’s Work Boots on the Ground program works closely with federal, state and local agencies and other conservation groups to provide manpower needed to complete critical projects that may otherwise go undone.
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