DENVER — For 15 years, Lacy McDonald served his country. Now, students at Grant Ranch ECE-8 School in west Denver know him as Sergeant Mack — and he's trading military discipline for something rooted in the soil.
Tuesday marks the first day of fall, and students at the Denver Public Schools campus celebrated La Cosecha — Spanish for "harvest" — bringing in the corn they planted back in June.
Denver7's Ethan Carlson has more the the lessons the students learned in the video below:
McDonald, a volunteer agricultural engineer at the school, helped students plant rows of corn, sunflowers, and tomato plants earlier this summer, nurturing them through the warmer months.
"What better way to teach children about virtues, whether it be honor, grace, integrity, than through growing food?" McDonald said.
The harvest coincides with Hispanic Heritage Month — a connection that Principal Dr. Boris Costaguerra said is intentional.
"Corn originated from Mexico, and 52% of our students are Latin students, so we want to make sure we have opportunities where they can connect to their culture and roots," Costaguerra said.
For Costaguerra, the garden plot has become an outdoor classroom — one that offers something screens simply cannot.
"Technology is great, don't get me wrong, but having students the opportunity to be able to interact with Mother Nature, the ground, mulching, opportunities to water and grow with them is just one of a kind," Costaguerra said.
That hands-on connection has taken hold. Students have made the garden their own, showing up even during free time to tend to it.
"A lot of students take ownership, so a lot of students come in even for recess instead of playing basketball. They come here and they actually help us clean the weeds out," Costaguerra said.
For 7th grader Parker Stewart, working in the garden has sparked something bigger.
"I'd say it's pretty cool because the more they get interested in it, the older they get. They're probably going to do this more, and that's going to help with like growing food, helping out the bees," Stewart said.
McDonald said the lessons growing in this garden go beyond agriculture.
"Just like the seeds that we plant, within them is all the ingredients to grow, and all they need is water, attention, grace, sun, boom," McDonald said.
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