AT WORK IN THE GARDEN. Young people from the Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Chippewa Valley were part of a crew that built garden beds recently at the Kids' Garden at North River Front Park in Eau Claire. (Submitted photo)

Green thumbs may be necessary to make a garden successful, but some kids from the Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Chippewa Valley learned recently that something else helps as well: construction know-how.

In late August, the young people helped remove old raised garden beds and build new ones with help from volunteers from the Chippewa Valley Home Builders Association. The collaboration occurred in the Kids’ Garden at North River Front Park at the corner of Forest and Huyssen streets near downtown Eau Claire. It was “aimed at inspiring and educating youth about opportunities in construction, providing valuable skills and experiences in the skilled trades,” the home builders group said.

“This partnership with the Boys & Girls Club is a win-win, providing great opportunities for the youth to gain hands-on experience in the construction industry. Earlier this summer, a few of the youth found they really enjoyed cutting wood and working with construction, and this garden bed project will allow these students and others to continue to develop these skills and give back to the community and the Club,” said Christina Thrun, executive officer of the Chippewa Valley Home Builders Association.

FoodWise, part of the UW-Madison Division of Extension, provided a grant that paid for lumber and garden supplies for the project. For more than 18 years, FoodWise has worked with the Eau Claire Area Master Gardeners to provide nutrition and horticultural education. Now, the planning committee of the North River roots Kids’ Garden is seeking additional funding to replace the rest of the gardens’ beds.