Update on Grace

After faithfully leading for over a year, Grace has stepped down from her position as garden director this past September. Grace is currently studying abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland and will return to Gordon for the Spring semester.

In fall of 2017, Grace Shelton became the new community garden director here at Gordon. A dynamic and charismatic leader, Grace helped to rejuvenate a plot of land behind Barrington into a place that would generate produce and cultivate community.

She began by giving the garden a new name-- Newroz, meaning new day or new sun in her native language (Kurdish). She then got community volunteers involved, raised exposure and acquired outside expertise to fulfill her vision.

The garden is now thriving and lovely, when it had been struggling and less well known. Just recently, we had our second annual Fall Open House, and the garden will be represented at Harvest Fest on November 12.

Grace stepped down from the position of garden director this past September. I am temporarily overseeing the Newroz garden for the fall semester and have loved it so far. My primary focus this semester has been to continue raising visibility for the garden. For the Spring semester, ASF will be taking applications for the next garden director from the student body.

Scroll below to read a brief account of Grace’s impact as director of Newroz.

I've known Grace for over four years as a friend and now as co-garden-team member. If there's one striking thing I've witnessed, it is her faith in the simple truth that God has delegated each human person the ability to make things happen and that if it is his will, he will provide abundantly.

After renaming the garden, Grace followed a quick and effective plan. She contacted Alden Drake, a friend from church with previous experience in gardening, and asked him to head the main restoration of the garden. Then, she recruited student volunteers to remove what remained of the old garden structure and install new fences and garden beds. She additionally contacted physical plant to help pick up spent fences and deliver loads of wood chips. In less than a month, the garden had new fences, fresh beds with organic compost, and two gates that announced the arrival of her dream. Just like that.

As the garden progressed in its journey and grew abundantly, Grace continued to come out and nurture the garden herself. So much of what Grace did for the garden was out of pure joy. She would often message me pictures of her time at the garden: a particularly large eggplant she found, a newly-built trellis for the cucumbers, and her feet under the aforementioned trellis. The garden was very successful, and Grace would give overflowing baskets of produce to those around her. The majority of her conversations began with an inquisitive, "Did you know we have a garden?" or an eager, "Come to the garden!"

Grace encouraged the involvement of the students, staff, and faculty members at Gordon, as well as neighbors in the Wenham area. The active presence of community members in the garden is something Grace truly appreciated; she always believed that the garden was not her own, but the community's to cultivate and enjoy together.

Here is a brief overview of the wide range of visitors, helpers, and produce-recipients of the garden:

Families from Grace's neighborhood in Hamilton (including her host family-- shout out to Annie for helping water the garden!)
Lifebridge Homeless Shelter in Salem
Gordon College students, faculty, and staff members
Lane dining services cooked green beans from the garden
Cabinet members Dan Tymann and President Michael Lindsay
Resident Director Jeff Carpenter's wife, Corinne, would come frequently with her son Michael and help water and tend to the garden.
Mark Stowell from physical plant gave us a big hand during the garden's rehabilitation by bringing wood chips and picking up old fencing.
Amanda Stowell from physical plant has visited us during multiple harvest days
Leo Cleary from physical plant has visited the garden on occasion
Dr. Noseworthy from the biology department installed a tunnel system to grow plants in the winter time.
Dr. Story (who manages the honey bee hives around campus and installed wild bee houses near the garden)
Dr. Boorse (advisor for the ASF)
Dr. Harkaway-Krieger came and helped us weed the garden with her daughter Matilda.
Dr. Melkonian-Hoover stopped by with her daughter Gabriella and made ratatouille with the produce!
Krista Christie from Gordon Police

Grace not only remained true to the original vision of the garden, but she also expanded on innovative projects. Here are some examples:

She contacted her friend Leo from physical plant to begin discussing plans for a rainwater irrigation system for the garden.
She had a cooking class where students learned how to make butternut squash soup with produce from the garden.
She met with the director of the Harvard Food Literacy Project to discuss a potential cross-internship program between Harvard and Gordon.

Grace was a director that constantly dreamed up new ways for people to connect, bridging gaps across a wide variety of disciplines and ages. I look forward to the future of the garden that she helped restore!

(Grace will be returning to Gordon in the Spring, where she will continue her studies.)