Mayor Michelle Wu visits students at Higginson Lewis K-8 School and their summer gardening program and is given a tour by Darren Knight and Kenneth Settles. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Mayor Michelle Wu was outside with Boston students on Tuesday morning to tour one of the city's fledgling summer gardening and outdoor classroom programs.
Wu and city officials arrived at Higginson Lewis Elementary and Middle School in Roxbury on Tuesday morning to tour the lush gardens with students from City Sprouts' Green Team summer program and Higher Ground summer internship. During the visit, the students, dressed in bright green, guided the mayor through the blooming gardens and outdoor classrooms.
The CitySprouts program is part of Boston's “Connect, Learn, and Explore” summer initiative, which aims to connect students to the community and skills such as cycling and swimming through sports, gardening and arts programs.
The mayor also spoke about her pregnancy at Tuesday's event, revealing it to the public on Monday and saying she is expecting a girl.
“While this may be a new experience for the city, it's not new to me,” Wu said. “I've raised two children during my time here, and while it can certainly be chaotic and tedious at times, I see families across the city juggling it as best they can.”
Wu has no plans to take maternity leave and has said her pregnancy won't affect her plans to run for reelection, but she has not officially launched a campaign. Wu became the first Boston City Council member to give birth while in office in 2014, and is now Boston's first pregnant mayor.
The summer gardening program is aimed at middle school students ages 10 to 14 in Boston and Cambridge and, like the organization's after-school programs during the school year, is tuition-free. It also provides free daily lunches and weekly field trips.
According to the CitySprouts website, the experiences are tailored to teach students “gardening, culinary and leadership skills” and include working in urban farms and gardens, STEAM-focused projects and field trips to meet with community leaders in local outdoor spaces.
The two sessions this summer are “The Science of Gardening” from July 8th to July 26th and “Cultivating a Green Community” from July 29th to August 9th.
