MLK winner uses nature, nurture to teach

Sonstelie plants irises with a student at Ready By Five in Yakima. (Photos courtesy of Doris Sonstelie)
 
 
YAKIMA, Wash. – Doris Sonstelie has found a place in the sun for thousands of children to plant seeds, pluck weeds, dispense water and reap rewards. A volunteer member of Washington State University’s Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Program in Yakima, she’s been cultivating green thumbs since 2006.
 

Sonstelie explains the different parts of a
bean that students planted from seed
at WSU’s Master Gardener Demonstration
Garden in Yakima.
As lead instructor of the youth gardening program, Sonstelie travels Yakima County to teach children from all income backgrounds and nationalities how to grow plants and vegetables and how food is connected to nature and the seasons.
 
And yet, she does more than teach. Place her on a patch of dirt with a group of kids and watch joy emerge as large as pumpkins.
 
“She reaches out, she cares. She’s an amazingly compassionate mentor,” said Yakima 4-H program coordinator Jennifer Loyd. “I think the impact she has on kids is long-term, not only in terms of educating them but also making them feel good about who they are.”
 
Which is why WSU selected Sonstelie as a recipient of the 2013 Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Distinguished Community Service.
 
Digs deeper
 
Watching a speck in the soil grow into an eight-foot-tall sunflower or a thick orange carrot exudes a certain magic that makes children excited to learn, said Sonstelie: “I love getting in the dirt with them and seeing their faces light up.”
 
She spreads her seeds of knowledge among children enrolled in 23 different programs, including Yakima’s 4-H youth development program, the Daisy Girl Scouts and Read by Five, an early education program for Yakima’s migrant children.
 
Horticulture is a “remarkable teaching tool” for subjects ranging from science and math to art and music, said Sonstelie. She and her students sing about insects and birds, make vegetable puppets and measure spaces between seeds. They talk about the natural scientific process of composting and analyze soil under microscopes.
 
“The kids are always surprised when they see all the fungus, insects, bits of leaves and twigs,” she said.
 
What’s more, Sonstelie nurtures her young gardeners because she genuinely cares about them, she said. The result: “I can see how it builds their self-esteem.”
But there’s another, broader benefit in showing children you care about them, she said: “To grow something in the ground, you have to take care of it along the way. My hope is these kids will learn to love nature enough to take care of it, now and always.”
 
Award ceremony Thursday
 
Sonstelie and other award winners will be recognized during an MLK community celebration 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, in the CUB senior ballroom at WSU Pullman. Awards are given for community service and altruism, advancement of diversity, and tolerance and inclusion.
 
“It’s important that WSU takes time to honor people for doing important work that helps make the university a more inclusive and successful place,” said Marc Robinson, director of WSU’s Culture and Heritage Houses and MLK celebration organizer.