At NSNP, our gardens serve as hubs for collective growth and education. We welcome open minds and hearts to visit and learn from our rich Puerto Rican oral history. This opened the door for Drexel University’s Lindy Center for Civic Engagement to partner with us for their educators’ Community-Based Learning Orientation Workshop.  

Iris Brown, one of the garden founders, and NSNP staff gave a tour of the gardens. They showed the educators what it means to fully engage in the collective education process alongside one’s community. As conversation flowed freely, educators reflected on the potential pitfalls of campus-community engagement and took inspiration from NSNP on expanding their capacity to fill these gaps.

Steve Vásquez Dolph, Faculty Fellow for Community-Based Global Learning at the Lindy Center, organized the event. He wanted to introduce participants to “forms of learning and development that are rooted in culture and driven by sustained relationships.”

Dolph says he partnered with NSNP because “it provides connection and insight to how education happens in communities and direct experience of learning alongside community members.”

The gardens and community moved Dolph, his colleagues, and the NSNP team through this collective experience. One educator, Monica, said, “I had such a magical time there…the visit helped to put me on the right path spiritually, emotionally, and professionally.”

Another educator, Victoria, was so inspired by what she learned that she shared her gift for poetry with us:

This is a space of freedom,

Openness and clarity

could allow a teacher or student

the ability to share, and see life from

Different vantage points

Relieved of  stiffness, or pressure,

And it allows for more fluidity of thought.

In this space of Parcelas Gardens,

You look my way and I smile

At your structures, shrubbery, plants,

And of all colors and disguises,

Your breezes are somewhat of

A challenge, but the sun has more powers.

The colors that surround me unfold

Into warm eye candy that I am loving.

The shed and huts are an unexpected

But loved. My bembe (mouth) is opened

In awesome wonder.  I am a child again

Discovering a new world. Thank you.

“Parcelas Garden” by Victoria Huggins Peurifoy

We are so grateful to the team from Drexel for sharing and growing with us. If their story inspires you, NSNP is always open to partnering with educators and students to build connections and expand collective knowledge. If you or someone close to you might be interested in joining us for a visit, service immersion, or community learning experience, reach out through our interest form.

We look forward to lots of collaborative growth in the seasons to come!

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