Garden Club sprouts up in Hollywood Community News Top News Top Story by Tatum Mitchell - October 8, 2024October 8, 2024 From left to right, Sue Forbes-Osceola, Ella Forbes-Osceola, Tenia Tommie James, Sally Turtle-Alfonso, Alex Tommie James, Azallea Stewart, Daylen Stewart and Kaidence Alvarez gather around to plant sweetgrass at Garden Club’s first meeting in Hollywood on Sept. 17. (Tatum Mitchell) The 4-H Garden Club is starting to take root in Hollywood with the club’s first meeting Sept. 17. Donna Frank, among others, talked about sweetgrass and demonstrated how to plant it. Many kids got their hands dirty – literally – and participated in planting a bin-full of sweetgrass. Attendees gathered under a chickee to hear speakers, Frank, club leader Krystle Bowers, forester Grant Steelman and biologist Sean McHugh. Bowers and Frank spoke about the cultural significance of growing sweetgrass and gardening other plants in the community. Donna Frank speaks about sweetgrass Sept. 17 at Garden Club’s first meeting. (Tatum Mitchell) “A lot of … tribal members from other tribes will tell you: You cannot have tribal sovereignty without food sovereignty,” Bowers said. “And if you look at the history of our people, colonizers, they attacked the food … first. That was their first way to gain control over our people.” After the speakers, people crowded around the above-ground gardening bin to plant their own sweetgrass. The children stretched over the top of the bin and squeezed in next to one another to dig their hands into the dirt, making a space to plant. The grass can take up to three years to fully mature, and having sweetgrass readily available on the reservations can be challenging. Baskets made from sweetgrass have been made for more than 60 years within the Seminole Tribe. Finding it has become increasingly hard. Environmental factors and construction contribute to this, according to Florida Seminole Tourism website. It also takes skill to spot and harvest sweetgrass. Frank said she sometimes drives for hours and treks through various properties to get to some. Grant Steelman shows attendees of Garden Club how to handle and plant sweetgrass. (Tatum Mitchell) “The wild sweetgrass used in these [baskets] is hand-picked from high, dry areas of the Everglades basin, washed, laid in the sun to dry and sewn together with colored threads,” the STOF website said. The first Garden Club meeting started with one bin of sweetgrass, but they are planning to plant Three Sisters and more to help teach kids about gardening and growing food. “With climate change, and … even just with tribal sovereignty, growing your own food … gives you more control over what you eat and what is grown in your community,” Bowers said. The next meeting is at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Hollywood 4-H grounds. Krystle Bowers hands out sweetgrass to participants at Garden Club for them to plant. (Tatum Mitchell) Jules Gentry gets ready to plant sweetgrass at Garden Club’s first meeting Sept. 17. (Tatum Mitchell) Attendees at the Garden Club meeting gather for a group photo. (Tatum Mitchell) Share on Facebook Share Share on TwitterTweet Share on Pinterest Share Share on LinkedIn Share Share on Digg Share