Bay Point Garden Summer Internship helps students build teamwork, communication and gardening skills

In MDUSD’s Bay Point Garden at Riverview Middle School, 17 high school students participated in a four-week internship that included outdoor gardening projects such as building a dry pond and tending to plants and trees; painting a mural; creating crafts out of gourds; making veggie pizza, terrariums and tie-dyed t-shirts; and taking field trips to Mount Diablo, the San Francisco Flower Mart, Todos Santos Plaza and an Escape Room! The students celebrated the end of their internship on July 3 by sharing their experiences with friends and family members.

“Each project taught us something new and let us express ourselves in different ways, which was a lot of fun,” said Mankirat Kaur.

Hannah Tran said the internship involved strenuous work such as sprucing up the garden grounds by pulling weeds, placing logs around the perimeter of the dry pond and hauling rocks in wheel barrows, while being sure to stay hydrated. But it also included fun surprises, such as finding a lizard, enjoying fresh-picked apricots, plums and mulberries, and creative projects such as designing a mural that included images from their internship. “Overall, I had a wonderful time at the Garden Academy,” Hannah said. “It was a meaningful experience and created lifelong skills and memories I will always cherish.”

Daniyal Imran said it was an honor to participate in the incredible internship opportunity. “Over the past few weeks, we’ve gained real work experience,” he said. “What you plant now, you will harvest later. I’m thankful for what I planted here in this internship and I’m excited to see what I will harvest later in my life.”

Joseph Anduray said the internship helped build students’ self-discipline, teamwork, communications skills and sense of responsibility. “Those are skills that are indispensable in any job,” he said, adding that communication and teamwork played a huge role in their ability to finish projects on time.

Garden Coordinator Franchesca Hendryx said the garden area is student-run, including hay benches made by students in an outdoor amphitheater. She said interns cleared debris from overgrown areas, nurtured native plants and used “fold-scope” portable cardboard mini-microscopes while they hiked outside. They also spent time together in an indoor classroom creating crafts and building friendships.  

“You’ve done so much in the last four weeks and you all should be very proud of yourselves,” Hendryx told the teens, before presenting them with internship certificates of completion. “We’ve watched you all grow during this internship and you always brought the positivity day in and day out. We are going to miss you, but we are excited to see what your futures bring.”

Click here to see a reel featuring highlights from the Garden Internship.

All 74 MDUSD Summer interns will gather for a celebration with their internship hosts at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 31 in the Loma Vista Adult Education Center multi-use room in Concord. 

Summer Bay Point Garden interns on Mount Diablo field trip