Cultivating Career Exploration & Confidence in the NW Works Garden

Aug 12

Written By Morgan Towle

A young man leans over a garden bed. He is holding a small shovel and is about to dig into the dirt in the garden bed. The man is wearing black gardening gloves.

A woman sits behind a raised garden bed with her arms resting on the wooden bars of the bed. She is smiling and looking directly at a plant in the soil. She is wearing a hooded sweatshirt and black garden gloves. There is a small shovel to her left.

Three women lean over a garden bed. They are planting an unidentifiable plant in the soil. The two women closest to the camera are fully bent over to pat the soil and the woman furthest away from the camera is holding her walker for support and bend

A woman in a blue long sleeve shirt with brown and gray streaked hair smiles at the camera. She is in a wheelchair and is sitting behind a garden bed. The bed is not visible, but the lettuce plugs sticking out the bed can be seen.

Two men are standing by a raised garden bed. They are holding on to a garden tool with one man support the tool as the other uses it.

When the NW Works garden project was revamped in 2021 after a brief hiatus, our goals were to find a safe, socially distanced activity that would teach skills, encourage a healthy lifestyle, and impart knowledge to individuals who might be interested in gardening as a career. Three years later, our garden serves a purpose in-house and in our wider community. Currently, our garden impacts over 250 families in Winchester, Frederick and Clarke County. Our community has backed the garden project, and we are excited for another year of harvesting, giving back to our community, and providing unique career exploration opportunities for the people we serve. The slideshow photos show our success, growth, and experiences in the garden that have been reinforced by community partners. Our garden project reaches far beyond the walls of NW Works, and we are grateful for area businesses and organizations for their support as our project flows into the community.

The adults with disabilities we serve often cite the garden as a highlight of their days, and many of them have mentioned the garden as an area they’d like to explore more for career opportunities. Our focus areas for career exploration within the garden are agriculture, food services, meal preparation, healthy eating, packing and storing food, and sanitation.

Some produce will be used by individuals in our programs to make fresh salad for themselves and their peers. Having the opportunity to create a portion of their meal, choose what goes in it, and focus on healthy eating choices are all aspects of a lifestyle that is aiming for maximized independence. For individuals who may not be employment-ready, meal preparation and making healthy choices can be stepping-stones toward job readiness, since they are targeted at skill building and confidence. Our Group Day program, in which these individuals participate, has expanded to include lessons intentionally focused on career skills and other key topics such as applying for a job, safety, health and hygiene, independent living skills, and health science focusing on the mind and body. Activities in the garden and using its produce fit into all these categories. Whether an individual is interested in food service, healthy eating, or best practices for knife safety; the garden provides.

The people we serve have roles that extend past tending to the garden; they also planned for the produce that will go in it. Each group selected several fruits, vegetables and herbs they had an interest in planting, and the Master Gardener’s took the planning from there. Weekly, each group is responsible for maintenance of the garden that will vary based on the season the garden is in. Groups weeded, planted seeds, and learned how to identify the vegetables by the look of their leaves before they even came out of the ground.

As for outreach, we have helped to address food insecurity in our community which fills those involved with pride and joy knowing their teamwork and hard work has impacted the lives of people in the community. Bill Melvin, Director of the Knights of Columbus Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen recognized NW Works’ impact, stating, "When the NW Works volunteers started bringing in the produce from their garden The Knights included it with their food deliveries. Each week non-perishable food is delivered to over 170 homes in the Winchester/Frederick County community. The recipients of the fresh produce are sincerely grateful to receive the supplement to their diet not previously available." Another local partner, Ann Copeland, of the food pantry FISH of Clarke County, stated, “NW Works provided vegetables from their garden to FISH of Clarke County that helped feed more than 80 families. The importance of fresh local food impacts more than an empty belly, it leads to better health and education about where our food comes from.”

It has taken a village to bolster the success of the Garden Project at NW Works. This harvest season, we are committed to providing for our neighbors in the Northern Shenandoah Valley as they have provided for us. Thank you to all of our community partners!

Morgan Towle

Cultivating Career Exploration & Confidence in the NW Works Garden

NW Works in Profile: Brandon Duarte

NW Works in Profile: Kelley Henry