Tomorrow, 5 June is World Environment Day. The theme for this year is Air Pollution. According to the World Environment Day website, nine out of ten people breathe polluted air — a frightening statistic. While the most polluted cities may be far from where we live and the effect of our individual actions may seem negligible, the site recommends ways in which we can help reduce air pollution. I’m sure you already do many of these:
- Use public transport or car sharing, cycle or walk
- Switch to a hybrid or electric vehicle and request electric taxis
- Turn off the car engine when stationary
- Reduce your consumption of meat and dairy to help cut methane emissions
- Compost organic food items and recycle non-organic trash
- Switch to high-efficiency home heating systems and equipment
- Save energy: turn off lights and electronics when not in use
- Choose non-toxic paints and furnishings
While not specific to this year’s theme, I thought the flash fiction prompt set by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch this week was a perfect match for World Environment Day. Charli challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes strawberries and mint. The combination evokes color contrast, scents, and taste. Where will the combination take you? Go where the prompt leads!
Growing plants, particularly those that produce edible delicacies, including strawberries and mint, is a great way of introducing children to the importance of caring for the environment. Both strawberries and mint are easy to grow and require little space.
The rewards are not only in the eating. Children can learn where their food comes from and understand that it doesn’t just appear in plastic packaging on supermarket shelves or in the fridge at home. In caring for a garden, they learn about what plants need and the importance of caring for the soil. They learn to be patient, waiting for the plants to grow and to be ready to harvest. Understandings learned from small-scale gardening, even in a pot, can be applied to caring for the environment on a larger scale. It is never too soon, or too late, to learn.
In my response to Charli’s prompt, I have considered gardening as nourishment for the mind and spirit as well as the body. Because strawberries are a favourite with both my grandchildren who would probably eat strawberries anywhere and anytime, I settled on a story featuring a grandmother and grandchild. Any similarity to this grandmother is non-existent. I hope you enjoy it anyway.
(I included some favourite family strawberry desserts in this post.)
Grandma’s Garden
Jess blew kisses to Mum, then raced Grandma into the garden. She pulled on her boots and gloves and readied her digging fork. Emulating Grandma, she soaked up explanations of magic combinations that helped plants grow. At the strawberry patch, they filled baskets with ripe red berries. On the way inside, Grandma clipped sprigs of mint.
They dipped strawberries in chocolate and garnished them with mint.
“For Jess?”
“For Mum.
“Birfday?”
“Just —”
Jess inspected the chocolate bowl. “All gone.”
“Stawbwee?” said Jess, pointing to the remaining few.
“For Jess,” smiled Grandma.
Jess munched strawberries and Grandma chewed mint.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.
Lovely, Norah!
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Thank you, Jennie. 🙂
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You’re welcome, Norah. 🙂
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Making the connection between taking care of a garden plot and the environment is vital for all of us to learn. When I was at Valley Natural Foods, I included a teaching garden in my marketing budget. If we were to be known for fresh food and sustainability, then why not show it and teach it? By the time I left we had school field trips to our garden every year so children could plant and learn where food came from — a seed! I love your Grandma character’s patience to lead the way and teach her next generation.
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Your teaching garden is a wonderful project, Charli. There should be more of them. It is great that school groups were able to visit and learn. I think patience is a must for successful gardening.
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Memories are treasure gifts. Oddly enough one year I planted chocolate mint. Which only smells like chocolate but doesn’t have any cocoa flavor.
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How interesting, to smell but not taste of chocolate. How deceptive. Chocolate and mint make a great combination.
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Kind of like colored string beans… I bought some at a farm market. I think they were more blue than green, but when you cooked them the color turned back to green. Nature has many oddities.
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It does! We’re probably all a little odd, in our own way. 🙂
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Some of us is just a tad more odd than others 🙂
(I believe on a scale of 1 – 10 I might be 23?)
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I think I’m off the scale. 🙂
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XD
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Fun little story, and love that you like to stick in dialogue in these. 🙂 Everyday should be environmental concern. 🙂 x
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Thank you, Debby. I agree with you about looking after the environment. 🙂
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🙂
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A lovely reminder, Norah about World Environment Day it does sadden me that it is now recognised as a day rather than a daily habit I just hope for many it will become that.
I also have a little granddaughter who would eat strawberries any time a lovely poem 🙂 x
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Thank you for your lovely comment, Carol. I think many of us are making changes to our daily routines. I’m not sure if it’s enough, but I hope it is. 🙂
I’m pleased you enjoyed the story. I don’t think my granddaughter would have waited patiently for permission to eat!
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Neither would mine.. Norah 😊
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Great tips and reminder, Norah! 🙂 Sharing…
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Thanks so much, Bette. 🙂
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Air pollution is such a problem worldwide. There’s a case going to be heard in London regarding whether pollution can be cited as a cause for a child’s death from an asthma attack.
Enjoyed your fun flash. I like both strawberries and mint but not together!
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It will be interesting to hear what happens in the asthma case, and who is to take responsibility.
I think strawberries and mint go together well in a punch. 🙂
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What a lovely story–and good reminder about World Environment Day. I admit, I couldn’t tick off too many on that list but now have a TODO goal to work toward! RT.
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I’m pleased you enjoyed it, Jacqui. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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This is such a cute story, Norah.
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I’m pleased you enjoyed it, Robbie.
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Oh, such a sweet story, Norah!
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Thank you, Ritu. 🙂
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That’s a sweet story Norah. ❤
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Sweet as strawberries. 🙂 Thanks, Pauline.
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You allowed us to join them for such a delightful time of enjoying the garden delights – I like how you ended with the dialogue –
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Thanks for your lovely comment, Yvette. I’m pleased you enjoyed it.
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I’m not I knew it’s World Environment Day tomorrow 5th June. It’s very worrying that the air in so many places are polluted. I like your brief plan Norah to reduce emissions – all so simple and easily implemented. But most of all I like imagining those strawberries mint and chocolate. Am salivating –
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❤ Gardening is wonderful. I’m so glad we have some space in our yard to plant a small one. My kids love it.
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That’s wonderful, Chelsea. They will learn so much from gardening. 🙂
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so strawberry sweet … sure you garden Norah!
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Thanks, Kate. The green thumb skipped me. Maybe I’ll see if I can find it again one day. 🙂
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lol I’m pretty sure you could do anything you turned your mind to:)
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If only the body would keep up. LOL.
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lol guess we are all wishing that …
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Thank you, Norah, for recognizing World Environment Day. Don’t you think it’s sad that we need to remind people to care for our environment? I’m thankful to live in a relatively clean area since there are cities where one shouldn’t go outside on certain days.
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Thanks for being so quick to respond with your lovely comment, Pete. I do think it’s sad that we need reminders. I love our beautiful clean air here in sunny Queensland. 🙂
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