Camp Fire USA: Omaha, Nebraska

Thanks to the help of funders such as the Junior League of Omaha, Lynne and John Boyer and the Margre and Charles Durham Foundation II, Camp Fire at Gomez Heritage Elementary is nurturing a new generation of green thumbs. The Gomez Heritage Garden Project provides Camp Fire kids with a way to make healthy lifestyles a reality while learning about the importance of community involvement. Throughout the summer, the kids plan, plant and tend to the vegetables in their garden—giving them an opportunity to gain firsthand experience with nutrition, responsibility, and teamwork. Camp Fire kids could not believe how much work went into having a vegetable garden. By the end of the summer, the kids were able to pick the vegetables they had started from seedlings and take them home to share with their families. Diego, a 3rd grader who spent his summer days putting up the fence around the pumpkins, covering the pizza garden with mulch and watering almost every day, stated “this is hard work, but I like helping in the garden, it is fun and exciting to see plants grow and know that you helped them grow.”

You can provide Camp Fire kids like Diego with the seeds to grow their garden project by contacting Michelle Zych at 397-5809 or mzych@campfireomaha.org.