The myriad of colors the flowers and plants surrounding James Walker Elementary paint every day are testament to the green thumb of Jack Gilliland and the enthusiasm the volunteer gardener brings to the school’s garden club.
Gilliland, a retired Kansas City School District teacher, has seen his children and grandchildren grow up attending Blue Springs Schools, and since gardening has always been one of his loves, he thought helping out the school across the street from his house was a natural fit.
Six years later, Gilliland is still working his magic.
Gilliland visits the school three days a week during the summer to water, and then takes care of the plants during the year. He and JWE teacher Pam Waterman run a garden club and the kids plant all the flowers, make the bird feeders and help keep the school looking great.
“I just do it because I enjoy it and the school is practically in my backyard,” said Gilliland, who taught for 42 years. “Kids are still fascinated by watching something grow from just little seeds and it’s something I truly enjoy. We have a lot of annuals out here and the kids help out by planting bulbs and with the bird feeding station.”
The members of the garden club meet for two hours on the third Tuesday of each month and Gilliland and Waterman guide them through many different activities, including a field trip to Gilliland’s garden.
“We have 15 in the group and they do all kinds of things like building terrariums and other projects,” Gilliand said. “The main thing is they are having fun and learning how every planting season and growing season is a new challenge.”
James Walker principal Greg Johnson said Gilliland has done far more than just teach kids to plant flowers.
“Jack is a very special individual to everyone at JWE. He spends a great deal of his time teaching the students about plants and gardening and the proper way to care for the plants and flowers. He has opened new doors to our kids and provided new opportunities for them that might not have been there,” Johnson said. “We provide the mulch, but he pretty much takes care of it all with Mrs. Waterman. He does all the watering throughout the summer and the maintenance of plants. He sees to it that James Walker looks great.”
Gilliland plans to keep the school looking just fine for years to come. “They haven’t fired me yet,” Gilliland joked. “This is something I just really enjoy and I’m glad to help out.”