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| The NC State Extension and 4-H students from Swain County have started a learning garden at Southwestern Community College’s Swain Campus. Pictured around the wire bee sculpture created by SCC art student Jasmine Spencer, are from left to right: Jenny Hill, NC State extension agent, 4-H youth development; Claire Hill, Cason Vaughn, Darien Vaughn and Jennifer Ashlock, SCC administrative assistant, enrollment services. |
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That motto has been adopted by the Swain County 4-H students who have started a learning garden at Southwestern Community College’s Swain Center.
“This learning garden is a way for our 4-H kids to get excited about watching things grow,” said Jenny Hill, NC State extension agent, 4-H youth development at SCC’s Swain Center. “If it doesn’t get very big or if it doesn’t grow, we want the kids to know it is okay, we will try again in a different spot or just learn from it and try a different plant.”
The 4-H students, who range in age from kindergarten to fifth grade, have all pitched in and learned about the different types of plants and how to collect soil samples.
These students were able to see their garden start as tiny seedlings and grow into green, leafy plants that are located right in front of the Swain Center for everyone who visits the campus to admire.
Hill also plans to have the 4-H students grow a fall garden with the focus being on replenished soil.
The wire sculpture that sits in the middle of the garden has also generated some buzz around campus.
SCC art student Jasmine Spencer of Bryson City made a wire bumblebee sculpture for the garden as one of her class projects during the spring semester.
“This was definitely one of the more interesting projects that I have worked on and I loved it,” said Spencer. “I had not had an opportunity to work with metal before and my instructor Brian Kane really helped me when I was drawing the shape out in chalk on the ground and bending the wires. This is why I want to be an artist, so people can enjoy my artwork.”
This project has given the Swain Center the opportunity to combine agriculture and arts.
The NC State Extension helps create prosperity for North Carolina through programs and partnerships focused on agriculture and food, health and nutrition, and 4-H youth development.
"Collaborative projects with our community partners give our students opportunities to utilize a variety of skills, turning classroom lessons into real-life applications,” said Jeff Marley, SCC’s heritage arts department chair. “In an area in which 20 percent or more of the workforce is in creative employment, this is valuable experience for students planning to have a career in studio art."
For more information about SCC and the programs it offers, visit www.southwesterncc.edu, call 828.339.4000, or stop by your nearest SCC location.
