One of my favorite things about ECCC events is I never know what side-quests the trip will bring. I have done yoga on the floor of a second-hand bookstore, gone ax-throwing, had a potluck in an airport, and witnessed the polar-iest of polar plunges in the aftermath of a blizzard, to name a few. Just like camp, ECCC gatherings always bring me an opportunity to try something I never would have done in my home environment.
Earlier this fall, when I was in Idaho for our 2026 Program Summit, I once again found myself on an adventure. We had just wrapped up the event and that feeling of success and exhaustion was heavy in my bones. However, as the warm sun inched its way slowly toward the horizon, Megan and I got back into her car and headed to a local community garden.
Now, Megan is a gardener. Our staff meetings have been peppered (pun intended) with updates about this community garden, her forays into botulism prevention, and produce wins in a local contest.
Her stories have been fascinating to me because I, despite being an outdoorsy person and working for an organization that counts multiple farms among our membership, am not a gardener. I love plants but, as my pet orchids can attest, I can figure out sun and water needs for a potted plant and that's about it. If the plant is in the ground, I sincerely have no idea what to do with it.
As we pulled into the parking lot, Megan made sure to point out the school across the street from the garden. The produce that we were harvesting was going to go into backpacks for kids and families at that school who lacked access to fresh food.
In the garden, I got to learn how to tend and harvest plants I had never even heard of. Did you know there's a type of pepper called a velociraptor? Or that tomatillo plants need to be planted in pairs because they produce best through the power of friendship? (That's not the scientific reason but it IS the fun one.) I watched the biggest tomato plant I have ever seen gobble up a fellow gardener so when she spoke, it was like the vines had gained sentience. I pulled weeds with the gusto (and probably accuracy) of a kindergartner told to "have at it."
There are big, systemic issues in our world - ones that lead to kids going hungry, parents having to choose between food and heat, and fresh food being a dwindling component of a dinner plate. I cannot change them on my own. But I can pick a pepper. I can harvest a bush of raspberries and for a moment be connected to a community not my own. I can spend an evening in a garden and marvel at how big even the smallest seed can bloom.
My gratitudes for today:
For Mother Earth and the way she feeds us
For friends who make even chores such as weeding fun
For the food on my plate and everyone who helped get it there
For the opportunity to connect with communities across the country
For all the wonderful things I have still yet to try
By Bekah Scolare, ECCC Communications & Member Support Coordinator
