Permaculturalist and professor of Religion and Ecology at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Charlie Headington is known in Greensboro for  introducing schoolyard permaculture gardens to the Greensboro Day School and Greensboro Montessori School. I volunteered at the Montessori garden over the course of two summers, assisting with everything from weeding carrot beds and uprooting pesky Bermuda grass to planting beans and corn with fifth graders and pruning herb spirals.

In the summer of 2006 from April to August, I was offered a temporary staff position at the Greensboro Day School. As an assistant to the seventh grade Biology teacher, I had the opportunity to experience the amazing synthesis that is garden-based instruction in action. As a garden assistant, my duties included:

• monitoring and troubleshooting challenges such as pests, disease, and irrigation needs
  
• delegating garden duties to and supervising student volunteers
• general garden maintenance including watering, weeding, harvesting, and pest management