It was a college environmental economics course that first awakened Tim Williams’ interest in gardening.
In just a handful of years, the hobby has grown into an unexpected career that has taken him from a Texas farmhouse all the way to the White House.
Williams–who now works with Wilmington-based Feast Down East–was one of six FoodCorps members who, along with D.C. school children, helped First Lady Michelle Obama plant the 1,500-square-foot presidential kitchen garden last week.
“It was pretty incredible,” Williams said of his visit. “Michelle Obama was so gracious to invite FoodCorps to participate.”
FoodCorps sends volunteers to agencies across the country to dedicate a year of public service aimed at ensuring children receive healthy school meals. The agency is right in line with the First Lady’s initiative to improve the health of the nation’s children.
Williams’ love for gardening, which began in his backyard while studying at UNC-Charlotte, led him first to a work farm and youth development program in Austin, Texas.
There, his burgeoning talent for horticulture took root, as he learned to hone his skills. But it was the growth of the students, he said, that really left a lasting impression.
So, in September 2013, Williams returned to North Carolina as a FoodCorps member and began working for Feast Down East, a nonprofit organization that works to build strong local food systems and alleviate poverty in both rural and urban communities.
Through Feast Down East, Williams has helped create and maintain gardens at Snipes Academy of Art and Design, Forest Hills Elementary, Lincoln Elementary and Rachel Freeman School of Engineering in New Hanover County, and at Supply and Town Creek elementary schools in Brunswick County.
He routinely works with second- and third-grade classes to teach them about the care of a variety of vegetables– kale, peas, arugula and cabbage–along with an aromatic array of herbs.
“We come out here and do taste tests–kind of like they are coming to a salad bar here in the garden–so they can see how lettuce tastes when it’s fresh,” Williams noted.
Williams also runs the Chef to Schools program, which invites area culinary professionals to teach students about cooking.
But just like at that Texas farm, Williams knows gardening is cultivating something deeper within his students.
“Gardening gives students a sense of ownership, a sense of pride, when they put a seed in the ground and see it grow,” Williams said. “But there are also a lot of life lessons.”
He said the recent cold winter–when icy conditions killed off plants and seedlings didn’t sprout–was a perfect opportunity for his students to learn the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
Digging in the dirt of school yards is far from the Charlotte economics classroom where Williams first discovered his passion for plants. But it’s that discovery–valuing the process over the final product–that Williams now works, above all, to sow in students.
“Sometimes people say, ‘I don’t remember anything I learned in elementary school.’ My answer to that is, ‘You remember how to read and write.’ Some things stay with you,” he said. “One of the things I try to transfer is gardening is about the experience…You learn something new every time, whether you are a first-time gardener or you have been doing it for decades. It’s about learning from mistakes and doing lots of small things well.”
Hilary Snow is a reporter at Port City Daily. Reach her at (910) 772-6341 or [email protected].
