MILWAUKEE — A new garden at St. Charles Youth and Family Services is helping students transitioning from juvenile detention find peace and learn valuable skills.
Cole Blockel, a 16-year-old student at St. Charles, has discovered a passion for gardening through the program.
"I had helped plant and water and just started from the ground up and do everything," Blockel said.
The Garden of Hope, unveiled on June 17, features a variety of plants including strawberries, watermelon, broccoli, turnips, collard greens, and flowers.
For Blockel, the experience has been transformative, offering him a sense of peace and accomplishment.
"It might help you one day with just relaxing, cause it's peaceful," Blockel said.
Gardening has long been recognized for its meditative and calming qualities, but for many of these students, it's their first experience getting their hands in the soil.
St. Charles Youth and Family Services operates as a nonprofit, temporary boarding school for students transitioning out of juvenile detention programs. The organization provides case management, mental health resources, employment assistance, and foster care services.
Yael Stein, a teacher at St. Charles who initiated the garden project, designed it to give students transferable skills.
"I wanted an opportunity for the students to gain a skill that could hopefully be transferable for them in the future," Stein said.
The garden project incorporates science, math, and reading skills as students build, plant, and care for the garden.
Stein has been at the school for nine years. She was placed here by CESA1, which stands for Cooperative Educational Service Agency. There are 12 CESA districts in Wisconsin. CESA 1 represents parts of southeastern Wisconsin. It's a governmental organization that helps place teachers, therapists, and other specialty providers in schools that don't have funding for those specific roles.
Stein has ambitious plans for the garden's future.
"(The) goal eventually is to create enough of a surplus that we can actually have the students start selling on weekends at farmers markets," she said.
Proceeds from these sales would support other charities or be reinvested in St. Charles programs.
Watch the story on the Garden of Hope to see what it looks like...
For Blockel, the impact of the Garden of Hope extends beyond the school grounds. He now helps with gardening at home, something he never did before.
"I help with my grandparents' garden, my mom's garden, all the time because of it," Blockel said.
The experience has been so positive that he now wants to start a garden of his own.
This story was reported on-air by James Groh and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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