A Deep-Rooted Commitment (Out & About)
Members of the GreenRoutes crew working on Pine Street in Wilmington. (Photo courtesy of the Delaware Center for Horticulture)
TheDCH helps the unemployed and underserved find jobs through GreenRoutes, a horticulture work-readiness program
Twenty-four-year-old Chie Smyre has always been fascinated by the process of growing organic foods and cooking. As a teenager, she could envision a future for herself in these areas. But when she was 19, that dream got waylaid. Smyre was arrested for selling drugs and faced five years of incarceration at the Hazel D. Plant Women’s Treatment Facility in New Castle.
When she was released from prison last winter, the Wilmington native needed employment opportunities. With help from a job counselor, she discovered and enrolled in GreenRoutes, a program sponsored by the Delaware Center for Horticulture, a nonprofit horticulture resource organization. GreenRoutes provides free training and an internship in the horticulture field, with the goal of finding enrollees entry-level “green” jobs.
After the 10-week program and an internship at Highland Orchards on Foulk Road in north Wilmington, Smyre got a job at Highland as farm assistant. She now plants and harvests crops and works at the farm stands, and she’s hoping to meld her love for organic food with her passion for cooking.
“I didn’t know where I was going, or what I was doing [before],” says Smyre. “But I’m positive now. I’m no longer living a negative life. I can wake up and come home at night knowing that I’m making my money legally.”
Helping change lives like Smyre’s is the specified goal of the GreenRoutes program, which connects TheDCH’s multiple missions: greening, education, environmental care and social justice.
GreenRoutes’ predecessor was the Return to Work Green Jobs program. Founded in 2008, it drew national attention when it was featured on NPR radio’s You Bet Your Garden. It gave ex-felons opportunities to improve their own lives by helping communities through green work.
GreenRoutes, which was piloted at the beginning of the year as an expansion of Return to Work, is open to anyone, with a focus on recruiting unemployed or underserved people, including those exiting the penal system.
TheDCH’s adult education manager, Bonnie Swan, and case manager, Jeff Long, helped facilitate the program. They work alongside GreenRoutes participants, even after they graduate.
“People who come to this program are changing direction in their lives and taking on a new type of job, with a new and more productive life,” says Swan.
The program, funded by state grants, is conducted from January to March, providing 350 hours of horticulture training and work in public landscapes and urban agriculture. It also covers first aid, safety, financial literacy and computer skills.
During their 10 weeks of wintertime training, students don’t simply sit indoors listening to lectures. They apply what they learn with help from guest speakers, DCH horticulture experts and field trips.
It’s when they’re doing reports, taking a plant apart, or examining something under a hand lens that students’ classroom knowledge comes alive, says Swan. “One of the best things is watching the lightbulbs come on, when you know you’ve really triggered somebody’s imagination. We make it as applied and experiential as we can.”
Following the program and an internship, graduates are ready for a job in the horticulture industry, including tree or lawn care services, landscaping, working as a florist, and more.
“By the time they’re ready to work, the season has heated up and people are looking for employees,” says Swan.
She and Long have gotten to know students over the months, and have come to appreciate their commitment to learning and growing, despite past misfortunes or conflicts they may have faced.
Most students need help reestablishing their lives and understanding how to navigate the world, Swan says. “These are people who have struggled with the system.”
Some, like Smyre, have served time, others had disadvantaged backgrounds, or have simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Several never finished high school.
“So it’s great to see the real person inside, not the stereotype,” says Swan. “And to know they have the potential to become gainfully employed and live a productive life.”
Smyre has nothing but praise for people at TheDCH. She says the organization’s commitment to students has been just as great as students’ commitment to GreenRoutes.
“They took time to get to know each one of us,” Smyre says. “They’re amazing, and they don’t judge.”
It was Long who drove around with Smyre to various farms, seeking an internship for her. Even after completing the program, Smyre says she can still call TheDCH if she needs help with things like bus transportation and housing.
For her, the opportunities provided by GreenRoutes are only the start to fulfilling her aspirations. Smiling, she says, “Maybe I’ll have my own farmers’ market one day, produce all the things myself and sell them myself.”