Montego Bay, Jamaica and Tucker, Georgia: Two Towns, One Mission

A beautiful sea breeze kissed our faces as we climbed down the hill at Highland House Farms towards the five-acre garden. Filled with organically grown fruits, herbs, and vegetables this special corner of the world has some big plans in the works for the children of Jamaica.

Highland House Farmer Mark McBean used a machete to open fresh coconuts for us to drink as we inspected the rows of healthy plants, including Ackee trees (Jamaica’s national fruit), bananas, arugula, scotch bonnet peppers, mango, papaya, callaloo, and bok choy.

Brenda Isaac, owner of Highland House Farms and Founder of the One Love Learning Foundation explains her vision for the property and the One Love Learning program.

“We want children to learn through real life relationships with the earth, and with each other, and in other countries. We want to celebrate diversity. For example, Americans eat spinach and collard greens while Jamaicans eat callaloo greens. They’re the same but different. Just like us.”

One Love Learning stretches globally from Atlanta, Georgia, to Cape Town, South Africa, to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Development is underway at Highland House Farms for a bamboo outdoor classroom in the garden under a big mango tree. Plans also include a worm farm and bee hives, with 60,000 bees arriving just a few days ago.

-----------

One week to the day, a different location, the same mission… connecting children to green space.

The birds were chirping as we three ladies, notebooks in hand, took to the woods to figure out which tree seedlings work best and where at the new . This newly-blazed walking trail is special – it leads to education and, potentially, an outdoor classroom for students of the Tucker school system.

We walk past the massive tree trunk still laying in all its majesty on the side of the trail. The plan for this fallen soldier? To cut it up into individual seats for the outdoor classroom.

After exiting the woods we walk up to the top of the open field, a perfect location for a student community garden.

We in Tucker, Georgia, and the good people of Montego Bay in Jamaica ALL need a reintroduction to nature. That’s right, a RE-introduction. I invite you to get dirty again.

This newly renovated Tucker public park will not only benefit our children with an outdoor classroom and student community garden, but just may get suburban living, Suburban drivers back into the woods.

While reflecting what’s to come, I look out onto two very different vistas. The Tucker Nature Preserve has a picture perfect view of Stone Mountain while the hills of Highland House expose the gulf of Montego Bay.

Both are beautiful in their own right and both will benefit our children, no matter which country you’re in.

Brenda Isaac is working with Jamaican elders to design a hands-on curriculum to get kids digging in the dirt again.

“The elders vision is simple, save the children,” she explains. “We as adults have to pave the way to get kids back to nature, where their souls reside. It all comes back to soil, soul, and society.”

The whole experience has been fascinating. Who knew you’d have to take the positioning of the moon into consideration to make an outdoor classroom.

“We cannot cut the bamboo until the moon is dark,” Isaac says. “According to advise from locals, worms are active during moonlit nights and if you cut bamboo while worms are present, it is no good. Once the moon comes into view, worms come out and infest the bamboo.”

Highland House Farms plans to break ground for the new classroom during the new moon around April 21.

Personally I wonder what the difference is between the two projects? Not much. Kids in both locations will have to trek to the organic farms and outdoor classrooms, one by way of Lawrenceville Highway, the other by way of old Doc Stevens corner up the hillside community of Content.

Other educational benefits? Business entrepreneurship. This isn’t a handout. We’ll teach kids where food comes from, the science of seedlings, the math of agro-business, and the marketing of products. Using live video Internet technology, we bring together students from different countries to share their stories and show off their talents, albeit djembe drum circles or delicious meals made from their gardens.

I consider this cultivated school curriculum at its best - under the trees, in the warm light of sun, with mother earth under your finger nails.

-----------

Both locations need help, volunteers, and money. To donate funds to One Love Learning projects, click “get involved” on our website.

What’s next at the Tucker Nature Preserve? from 9 a.m. until 12 noon! Email parks@tuckercivic.org for more information and to sign up your family, friends, or organization.