You can’t plant a garden without getting your hands dirty.

Dozens of volunteers did just that May 22 at the Quinn Center of St. Eulalia Church. They dug out weeds, planted flowers, herbs and vegetables and took time for Zumba and yoga as part of the “Cultivate Quinn” event. At the end, Father Francis Ortega and Deacon Mike Barnish of Sacred Heart and St. Eulalia Parish led a blessing and dedication, marking the plot as a recognized Laudato Si’ garden.

Among the workers were Nazareth Academy seniors Bella Sliwka and Viara Perez, who spent the morning of the day before their graduation preparing the soil for planting and then welcoming the elementary-age students they have been working with as part of Plant and Play, a service project the Nazareth students created under the umbrella of the Sisters of St. Joseph’s Community Builders for Peace program.

“I’ve learned a lot,” said Sliwka, who plans to study at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb next fall. “Something so little can go so far. And it’s especially important in food deserts.”

Sliwka and Perez, who will attend the University of Iowa, both said they planned to come back to help next summer, even though gardening can be hard work.

“It’s fun for the first 20 minutes,” Sliwka joked, taking a break under a shade canopy with a cold bottle of water. “It’s looks so easy, but when you actively try it, it’s hard work.”

“It’s a project that is both ecological and anti-racist,” said Sister of St. Joseph Pat Bergen, who worked with the students. The idea was for the high school students to help children who participate in Quinn Center programming to work together with the classmates of all races and ethnicities to plant vegetables, starting them in cups at home, and then bringing them to the Quinn Center to be added to the garden.

Sharon Vanegas brought her children: Jaquelyn, 12;  Norberto, 10; Estefania, 8; Christina, 4; and Christian, 3. The school-age children participated in the Plant and Play program, and they arrived with tiny carrot and tomato plants to add to the garden.

“They loved it,” Vanegas said, watching Norberto grab a shovel to help the high schoolers and hand a trowel to his younger sister, Estefania.

“I liked planting the seeds and putting the water on them,” Norberto said. “My mom makes her own plants, too.”

The plan had been to start the garden in spring 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic put everything on hold. Volunteers were able to plant last summer, but it was too late in the year to harvest much, said Kristen Mighty, Quinn Center executive director. The Quinn Center was founded in 2010 by St. Eulalia Parish as its principal social outreach ministry.

Once this year’s crops are harvested, the vegetables will be used to make snacks for Quinn Center programs or distributed through the food pantry.

Jessica Rodogno, an English teacher and director of curriculum and instruction at Nazareth Academy, said that gardening is something almost everyone can do to help the environment and the people around them.

“This is the best project,” said Rodogno, who also led a brief yoga session at “Cultivate Quinn.” “It’s planting literal seeds, but also planting the seeds of caring for the earth, caring for the community and unity.”

The event also featured booths with other resources. Taller de José, which offers accompaniment to those who need it, now has someone at the Quinn Center full-time, according to Anna Mayer, Taller de José’s executive director. A table offered resources for people from the neighborhood.

Living la Fiesta, a cooperative of immigrant women, offered tamales and baked goods to sell, and VeggieRx and Real Foods Collective, run by parishioner Mary Mora, was there to sign people up for locally grown boxes of produce each week. The program is open to people in Maywood or patients at the nearby Loyola Medical Center.

Ann Farrell said her doctor signed her up, and now she appreciates not only the produce but the online cooking tips. “I never would have known what to do with broccolini,” she said. “Now I love it.”

At the end of the warm, sunny morning, the staff and volunteers gathered to dedicate the garden with prayer.

“In Genesis 1,” Sister Pat said, “God looked at creation and he said, ‘Wow. This is good.’ In Genesis 2, he created people and he put them in a garden.”

God told people to care for and cultivate that garden.

“Men, women, boys, girls, that’s what we’ve been doing today,” she said. “We’re inviting people to care for the earth, to get their hands dirty. To harvest food and take it to our food-insecure city.”