School visit to the garden
by Ian Young
There is a wonderful scene in Peter Weir’s film ‘Witness’ in which an Amish community –
assisted of course, by Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis – construct a massive barn, in the course of just one day. More on that later.
On a perfect early summer’s morning, the garden was invaded by a youthful horde: around
forty 4th year pupils from Stewarts Melville and Mary Erskine schools (ESMS). They had just
finished exams and, before being set free for their summer holidays, were to be let loose on
some local enterprises. The regular volunteers in the garden were a little apprehensive. Which
jobs might be suitable? How would the pupils behave? Where should we hide the power
tools?
We needn’t have worried. A sensible list of tasks – path clearing, slab moving, weeding,
digging, planting, painting – was circulated. The ESMS teachers with the group approved, and
visibly relaxed during the day as they saw how well their charges were doing.
I was in charge of the painting crew. Our new gatehouse needed painting – a not insignificant
job – and we had been putting it off for a while. I say ‘in charge’, but within five minutes the
team of boys and girls had assessed skills, aptitudes, tasks, such as who was neatest with the
masking tape, who could open and pour the paint, the tallest person for the high sections, and so on. The boys did some showing off, the girls rolled their eyes, but they got on with their tasks.
Even those who had clearly not held a paintbrush in their lives. I was mostly worried about
their ‘painting’ clothes: Abercrombie & Fitch, UnderArmour, Canterbury. Maybe the paint
splatter would come out in the wash…
Elsewhere, overgrown paths were magically restored, weeds were dug up, seeds were
planted, slab stones were moved by energetic teams, wood chip was wheelbarrowed, and
garden tools were all safely used.
Back with the painting crew, some tribal paint markings were mysteriously appearing on
cheekbones and chins. The girls asked if they could play some music, not too loudly, and, as
they worked, they sang along. The boys were no longer showing off, but were concentrating
on doing the best job they possibly could. That’s when the scene from ‘Witness’ came into
my mind: the power of community. It was a surprisingly heart-warming moment.
When it was time for the pupils to go, they congregated round the gatehouse, and the
teachers took some photos. I noticed that the paint crew had stuck together (not literally
stuck together, thank goodness). I wondered if their sense of achievement, of doing such a
fine job on the gatehouse, had, for a short while, created a subtle bond.
As they filed out, we were sad to see them go, but hopeful that they might, perhaps, have
found something in the garden to inspire them. A burgeoning love of outdoor spaces maybe;
an interest in growing and tending plants; some newfound skills – even just to paint their
dad’s shed.