VISTA Gardens has long been fortunate to benefit from the volunteer efforts of students from Sickles High School’s National Honor Society, who lend a hand with gardening tasks one Saturday each month. Recently, we had the opportunity to bring some joy to the Sickles campus through a collaboration with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots.
Meet Sophie, a dedicated junior at Sickles High School with a passion for community service. When Sophie discovered that the Jane Goodall Institute had opened a local basecamp for its Roots & Shoots youth program in the Tampa Bay area, she reached out to Bonnie Eaton, Basecamp Coordinator and VISTA gardener. Like many school campuses, Sickles had an uninspiring landscape, and Sophie wanted to create a vibrant focal point that would engage students while also highlighting the importance of nurturing an ecosystem that gives back to nature. Roots & Shoots’ mission is to support youth-led service projects that benefit animals, people, or the environment—making it a perfect fit for Sophie’s vision.
The Jane Goodall Institute is a global community conservation organization that continues the legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall, best known for her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees in Tanzania. Over time, Dr. Goodall recognized the threats posed by habitat destruction and illegal wildlife trafficking to chimpanzee populations and developed a unique approach to conservation that benefits people, animals, and the environment. In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute to ensure that her life’s work and vision would continue to inspire collective action to protect the natural world.
Roots & Shoots was founded in 1991 after a group of Tanzanian students expressed feelings of powerlessness in the face of global challenges. The program has since expanded worldwide, with over 5,800 projects reported in more than 70 countries. In 2023-2024, Roots & Shoots USA launched basecamps in six major metropolitan areas, including Tampa Bay. These basecamps provide support for youth projects, offering mentorship and connections to community resources.
In the spring of 2024, Sophie applied for a Roots & Shoots grant and was awarded $250 to install a pollinator garden at Sickles. Bonnie, a member of VISTA, encouraged Sophie to reach out to garden members for help, knowing they would generously offer their expertise. A neighbor volunteered to help construct a raised garden bed, and Sophie used the grant money to purchase supplies. However, the funds fell short for plants. That’s when Roberta Owens, Chair of VISTA’s Wildflower Garden, saw an opportunity to extend VISTA’s impact. Roberta met with Sophie, Bonnie, and Sophie’s mom on a recent Sunday to “re-home” some cuttings and plants from VISTA’s wildflower garden. Later that day, Sophie and her friends met up at Sickles to bring her vision to life. The garden now features red and white tropical sage, keys mistflower, beach sunflower, butterfly weed, and black-eyed Susan—all of which will provide a vital food source for pollinators.
The new pollinator garden is strategically positioned along a busy pathway in the center of the Sickles campus, ensuring it receives plenty of sunlight and has easy access to water. Sophie’s vision is now a reality. And if Sophie looks familiar, it’s because she was recently in the spotlight for another of her service projects, Sophie’s Closet, which provides free, gently used formalwear so that all students can attend homecoming and prom. Way to go, Sophie!
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