Garden aligns with pope’s call to care for earthly home

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

Ignoring the squishing of their shoes in their campus’ rain-soaked grass, students from Academy of Our Lady’s environmental science class used garden shears to carefully coax heads of cabbage and broccoli out of the ground.

“Wiggle the cauliflower gently,” directed their teacher, Salesian Sister Janna San Juan, participating in the weeding and vegetable picking, right alongside her students.

On Jan. 19, the energetic  group had the thrill of harvesting cauliflower, broccoli, beets, radishes, shallots, carrots, assorted greens and two types of cabbage they had planted from seed in October.

The day’s bounty of fresh produce was handed over to Madeline Carpenter, the lead instructor in Academy of Our Lady’s Culinary Arts program.

“Thank you, guys!” said Carpenter, accepting the colorful “vegetable bouquet” for use in her classroom-kitchen, located steps away from the garden.

“We’re studying salads in our advanced culinary arts class right now, so this will definitely come in handy,” she said.

Caring for the earth

But beyond being “just another science project,” the six-bed garden is an important component of Academy of Our Lady’s Catholic identity. Its cultivation was chosen by the students as their “action plan” in response to Laudato Sí, the first encyclical in church history focused exclusively on the environment.

In the 2015 encyclical, Pope Francis reminds the faithful that they are not simply the heirs of creation, but actors in God’s creative scheme and stewards of a place on which all living things depend for survival.

“Pope Francis is encouraging others to implement environmental projects to help our common home on our common home of earth,” Sister Janna explained. “I think it’s a great way to get our students to recognize how important our world is, and how important it is to take care of God’s creation.”

Last fall, class members worked together to weed, till soil and lay down mesh tarp for their vegetable patch. Next, they dug holes for the seeds and seedlings, watered them, placed them into the holes and packed soil over the roots.

Every other morning, Sister  Janna watered the pesticide-free garden, and at the midpoint of every other environmental science class, allowed her students to leave their physical classroom to go outdoors to tend to the garden and eye its progress through the lens of environmental science.

“They get really excited about being able to work with their hands,” Sister Janna observed. “It’s good to get them outside to do something very practical, and whenever we come back to the classroom (after gardening), they’re always happy!”

Hub of life

Before heading outdoors to take part in their recent harvest, Sister Janna’s students received a lesson on the importance of biodiversity – the need to maintain a variety of organisms and conditions to keep all species of life thriving in our interdependent world.

Examples of biodiversity spotted in Academy of Our Lady’s garden in recent weeks include caterpillars, butterflies, birds and even a renegade purple carrot – a vegetable that had reseeded itself from a previous planting.

Senior Alix Cemo, who chose to study environmental science because of her love for animals, said the garden project has given her new skills and a heightened appreciation for the work of farmers.

“I just think it’s really cool to plant all of it, see it from the start and see where it is now,” she said of the challenging but rewarding effort. “And it’s cheaper than going to the store and buying all the vegetables. I want to do strawberries next!”

Academy of Our Lady junior Corinne DuBuc recalled that the green space looked a bit barren before she and her classmates performed their planting magic.

“We started working on it and it looks great now!” DuBuc said.
Junior Isabella Nagy said that during a baking class she had taken the previous year, she always thought about how great it would be to have a school garden from which to cull ingredients.

“We were always buying supplies for the class, so we thought a garden would be a good idea for supplying the culinary classes,” Nagy said.

All hands on deck

Sister Janna said more beets will be among the garden’s next plantings. Other collaborators on the project include members of the Academy of Our Lady’s CRS (Catholic Relief Services) Club, who serve as volunteer weeders, and faculty members with proven green thumbs.


The environmental science students are working on two other action plans linked to Laudato Sí: making and selling “eco-friendly” pens; and coordinating a schoolwide poster project to promote environmental awareness.

“Additionally, we are participating in the 4-H Louisiana coastal studies program, where a 4-H agent leads us through six classes,” Sister Janna said. “These classes involve learning about our wetlands and how to preserve them and protect them against erosion.”

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