On a Thursday morning at City Natives, the Outdoor Ambassadors shaped fruits and vegetables out of clay by hand, writing cards to accompany them: where each one grows, how far it travels, how it ends up in a local grocery store. This work was in preparation for a “Where Your Produce Comes From” Station hosted at the East Boston Public Library.

That Saturday, the Ambassadors hosted their “Meet the Ambassadors” program, a community pop-up at the East Boston Public Library, an event they planned themselves from start to finish. They chose the theme, designed the activities, gathered the materials, and even decided what food to serve. With families and young children in mind, they built stations for birdhouse making, DIY seed planting, and a read-aloud corner.

Each piece of the “Meet the Ambassadors” program carried a message the Ambassadors were eager to share. “I hope community members come away understanding how long it takes for their produce to get to grocery stores”, said Isa. For Amelia, it was the birdhouse station: “I hope community members learn about the purpose of birdhouses and how they can make them at home”.

Back at City Natives on Thursday, in the afternoon, Ambassadors worked alongside Lacey Berg, an Urban Grower on the Boston Community Gardens team. They toured the nursery and then got into it: weeding, hauling trash out of a patch destined to become a native plant garden, repotting plants for sale. They even propagated a few species.

By day’s end, they sat down to journal. We asked them two questions.

What has been your favorite part about working in the community gardens?

• Kevin: “A lot of people assume physical work like weeding, watering, and composting is tedious. It is but repeating these tasks over and over gives you the chance to think over what you’re doing and why it matters. It gets more and more fulfilling.”
• Lena: “Helping out the community and contributing to making a healthier environment.”
• Andrea: “Nightingale has a lively and diverse community, and it even shows up in the choice of plants each gardener cares for. I think it’s beautiful that people of all races, genders, experiences, and lives share such a wonderful space.”

And how has your understanding of gardening and growing food changed?

• Ava: “How much hard work the people who take care of the gardens do. Lacey would usually repot all those plants by herself.”
• Isa: “Planting is very hard with all the weeds. It’s helped me understand how many people yearn to have their own plants.”
• Amelia: “I’ve learned about the process of growing plants and the different plant interactions.”

The Outdoor Ambassadors is a seven-week youth employment and leadership development program that engages nine young people ages 15-18 in hands-on stewardship, environmental education, and community-based learning experiences across Boston and beyond.