Garden: a positive impact in the world.

A garden is an opportunity to engage children with the natural world.

Introducing children to gardening provides them with a unique opportunity to engage with and rediscover the natural world, to appreciate the cyclical rhythms of the seasons, and to understand their responsibility in nurturing and preserving the Earth.

Insects, reptiles, birds and mammals among a serie of wildlife beings will enjoy the improvement of habitats and landscapes.

Here is one of my great learning experiences at my grandmother garden when I was just 8 years old.

My grandmother, Jacy, possessed a profound love for plants, a passion she imparted to me along with invaluable lessons in ecology. In the Brazil of the 1970s, ecology was seldom discussed, but my grandmother grasped its significance with remarkable depth.

I recall a particular Mother's Day when I found myself without money to buy a gift for my mother. Sensing my dilemma, my grandmother suggested I gather flowers from her garden. On that sunny May morning, she instructed me to select blooms with long stems for a tall vase. As I eagerly searched for the most vibrant ones of her garden, a serendipitous encounter occurred. A little green garden snake coiled around my hand prompting me to shout out , dropping the flowers and running in a panic.

My grandmother, alarmed by my reaction, quickly approached. Upon learning of the snake description, she calmly assessed the situation. She said: _Whether you like the snakes or not, whether they scare you or not, snakes are indeed a crucial part of the nature. This one that you saw repels and control pests, such as mices, grasshoppers, cockroaches and other insects in the home garden. She also shared her own similar encounter and explained that the little snake was harmless to her but, I should keep myself away from the snakes and respect their space.

I calmed down and together, we retrieved the fallen flowers and fashioned a beautiful bouquet. The surprise delighted my mother.

Later, when tasked with writing about Mother's Day for my school homework, I recounted my encounter with the little snake and my grandmother's sage advice. My teacher, Maria Nelci was astonished by my narrative, prompting her to inquire if I had written it alone. With a nod, I affirmed her question, earning her praise and the honor of having my essay shared with the entire class on the blackboard. Then my teacher turned to me and asked, _ Are you still afraid of snakes, Silvana? And I paled and nodded again, making all the classroom laugh.

MY MEMORIES:

1. Silvana 7 years-old.

2. The little snake "Cobra-cipó verde".

3. Primary School "Grupo Escolar Tiradentes" in Curitiba, (Brazil)