Avery Williams holds her cupped hands out, they are filled with worms

Covered in dirt, her gloved hands have been digging, shovelling and spreading fertilizer over a small garden outside . In fact, todayB次元官网网址檚 classroom at the alternative school supporting young women, trades textbooks for shovels - and many of their students are covered in dirt.

B次元官网网址淚 have a really bad anxiety disorder and the mainstream schools are too much for me,B次元官网网址� said Artemis Place student Eva Rainshadow. B次元官网网址淪o this is a really helpful program here.B次元官网网址�

Growing Schools, a program offered in , provides outdoor learning and food sustainability classes at the alternative school. Here young women, trans youth, and or women who are pregnant or parenting can get support from on-site daycare while they attend, to community food programs to self-paced learning. Avery Williams, a student at the school said the program has had a positive effect on her inside and outside the classroom.

B次元官网网址淚 love that we get to grow stuff that we can eat,B次元官网网址漵he said, B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a great place to just come outside and relax, because school sometimes can be stressfulB次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 good to just come outside, sit on the bench and eat some strawberries.B次元官网网址�

The partnership has seeded opportunities for the students, some who donB次元官网网址檛 always have an opportunity to eat healthy food, or eat from a garden at all, to get their hands dirty and their stomachs full. The school also offers a stocked kitchen so students can cook the food they grow, and eat even if they donB次元官网网址檛 have food at home.

RELATED: Artemis Place offers opportunities for young mothers

B次元官网网址淲e have a robust food program and community lunch here. In combination I wanted it to be a therapeutic space and a place where we could grow our own food,B次元官网网址� said Daya Moss, a teacher at Artemis Place. B次元官网网址淚 really believe strongly in the healing power of nature and engagement with nature.B次元官网网址�