凱蒂·斯塔利亞諾：小卷心菜里種出大慈善

Craig+Idlebrook

It all started with a cabbage seedling—a science project sent home with eager third-graders in Summerville， South Carolina. Inevitably， some of the seedlings didn't make it into the ground. Others were planted and forgotten； a few were cared for and thrived. Still one girl， then-9-year-old Katie Stagliano， made an impact with her seedling that has since affected a great number of people.

With her brother's help， Katie planted the seedling in her family's backyard. She fertilized1） and watered it， as well as installed a chicken-wire2） perimeter fence3） to keep the deer out. It grew huge， weighing in at roughly 40 pounds.

"When she brought in that cabbage， it changed all our lives，" says Stacy Stagliano， Katie's mother.

What does one do with a 40-pound cabbage？ Katie remembered how her father told her at the dinner table to never take more than she could eat， so she asked her mother if she could donate the cabbage to feed the hungry. Stacy found a local soup kitchen4） that could take it. The organizer asked Katie to deliver it and later help serve the food made from it. Katie got to see the impact of growing the cabbage， and many guests at the soup kitchen thanked her for her efforts.

That day， a light bulb switched on5） in Katie's head. If one cabbage could feed so many， she thought， what about a community garden？ What about several gardens？ Katie dedicated herself to growing fresh food for the hungry. It seemed a perfect way to make a difference and help the homeless.

Katie and her family started an organization called Katie's Krops and created six community gardens. The gardens vary in size， from her backyard garden to a school garden the size of a football field to hundreds of blueberry plants and two greenhouses at a local farm. Both Katie and her mother cannot believe that the project has grown so big； it was never their intention.

"It's just grown and grown and grown，" Stacy says. "One door opens and you see the possibilities."

From the sound of it6）， Katie always had the determination to create an altruistic7） gardening organization， even if she didn't start with a deep gardening background. Her parents had often listened when Katie expressed a desire to learn. When she wanted to know more about drought8）， she and her mother travelled to a nearby lake that had dried up. After the trip， Katie worked with her school to boost water conservation.

Still， like all gardeners， Katie had to make her own share of mistakes. For example， she tried to establish a community garden plot9） on a hill where there were fire ants10）. The plot had to be abandoned when the ants spread through the cabbage. She also has given up trying to grow broccoli11） and cauliflower12）， crops that were always stunted13） in her garden， in favor of plants that have brought a higher yield and have been easier to grow， such as eggplant.

"It's just small things like that，" she says， "learning from those mistakes." But the organization's reach14） would have been limited were it not for Katie's ability to wrangle15） others to help or donate， including her parents， a master gardener and many complete strangers.

People who know Katie say she is as comfortable talking to a room filled with hundreds of people as she is talking to a crowd of two. Even though she admits to not putting enough time into fundraising， Katie says her project has been blessed with the resources to move forward.

Bob Baker is a local farmer who didn't know what he was getting into when he agreed to help Katie. He first met her at a public event after hearing about Katie's Krops in the local media. She asked for his help， and Baker， who is inclined to altruistic acts， couldn't refuse. He soon found himself teaching her how to ride a tractor and donating space at his farm for her crops.

"Anytime you see a kid trying to do something， you've got to help out，" Baker says.

He's not alone. Katie's former science teacher， Cory Fuller， quit her full-time teaching job to become a part-time garden education director for Katie's Krops. Fuller says she loves how engaged children get when they work on planting a garden for the hungry.

Baker and others who know Katie say she has the uncanny16） ability to not be intimidated by the possibility of failure. Whenever she is faced with an argument against doing more， she simply counters17）， "Why not？" Fate takes care of the rest.

"She took a step and somebody helped her out，" Baker says. "She took another step and another step， and now the ground she's covering is getting bigger and beyond her state."

Katie's Krops has also awarded grants18） to similar gardening proposals in other states. A Katie's Krops blog is filled with articles of children using the grant money to start gardens to feed those in need. Katie's life differs more than slightly from the norm19） of a 13-year-old girl. She must balance travel， volunteer work at the local soup kitchen and gardening with a social life. But she's a normal girl who admits to wanting to find time to hang out with her friends on the weekends. What sets her apart is her commitment to grow food for those less fortunate.

She doesn't see herself tiring from the work， and she looks forward to when she can drive so she can spend more time in her six gardens.

"I'm having such a fun time，" she says. "I don't think I would give it up for anything."

所有的一切都始于一株卷心菜苗——這是南卡羅來納州薩默維爾市熱心的三年級學(xué)生帶回家的科學(xué)作業(yè)。不出所料，有些菜苗根本就沒有被種下；有些在種下之后又被遺忘；只有那么幾株菜苗得到了照料，并茁壯成長。還有一個女孩——當(dāng)時九歲的凱蒂·斯塔利亞諾——用她的菜苗有所作為，并在此后影響了許多人。

在哥哥的幫助下，凱蒂把菜苗種在了自家的后院里。她給菜苗施肥、澆水，還用鐵絲網(wǎng)圍了一圈柵欄，以防有鹿闖入。那顆卷心菜長得巨大無比，大概有40磅（譯注：約18公斤）那么重。

“自從她把那顆卷心菜帶回家，我們的生活就整個都變了樣兒?！眲P蒂的媽媽斯泰茜·斯塔利亞諾說道。

一顆40磅的卷心菜叫人如何是好呢？凱蒂記得爸爸在飯桌上告訴過自己，吃不了就千萬不要盛太多，所以她就問媽媽可不可以把卷心菜贈送給那些挨餓的人吃。斯泰茜在當(dāng)?shù)卣业揭粋€可以接收那顆卷心菜的施濟所。組織者讓凱蒂把卷心菜交給他們，后來還讓她幫忙上菜，這些菜都是用那顆卷心菜做的。凱蒂得以了解到種植卷心菜所發(fā)揮的作用，而且很多在施濟所用餐的人們都對她付出的努力表示了感謝。

那一天，一只燈泡在凱蒂的頭腦中亮了起來。她心想，如果一顆卷心菜就可供那么多人吃，那么一個社區(qū)菜園將可供多少人吃呢？如果是好幾個社區(qū)菜園呢？凱蒂開始專注于為那些挨餓的人種植新鮮食物。這似乎是一個絕妙的辦法，既能有所作為，又幫助了那些無家可歸的人。

凱蒂和她的家人一起創(chuàng)立了名為“凱蒂的作物”的組織，并建立了六個社區(qū)菜園。這些菜園有大有小，從她家后院的菜園，到一個有足球場那么大的學(xué)校菜園，再到一家當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)場的上百顆藍莓樹和那里的兩間大棚。凱蒂和她的媽媽都不敢相信這個項目竟然發(fā)展得如此壯大，她們原本并無此意。

“它就這么不斷地發(fā)展、發(fā)展再發(fā)展，”斯泰茜說，“一扇門就此打開，讓你看到了各種機遇?！?/p>

盡管凱蒂一開始并沒有深厚的園藝背景，不過看起來，她一直都決心要創(chuàng)立一個造福他人的園藝組織。當(dāng)凱蒂表示出想要學(xué)習(xí)什么的愿望時，她的父母總是認真地聆聽她的想法。當(dāng)她希望了解更多關(guān)于旱災(zāi)的知識時，她便和媽媽去參觀了附近一個已經(jīng)干涸的湖泊。在那次行程之后，凱蒂就與自己的學(xué)校一起著手促進水資源的保護。

不過，和所有園丁一樣，凱蒂也必須經(jīng)歷自己犯錯這一關(guān)。比如，她嘗試在一座有火蟻的山上建立一塊社區(qū)菜園用地，但火蟻爬滿了卷心菜，她不得不放棄這塊地。她還放棄了種植花椰菜和花菜這兩種在她的菜園里總是長得不太好的農(nóng)作物，轉(zhuǎn)而種植已經(jīng)帶來更高產(chǎn)量且更容易成活的作物，比如茄子。

“都是這一類瑣碎的事情，”她說，“從這些錯誤中吸取教訓(xùn)?！辈贿^，要不是凱蒂發(fā)揮自己的才能費盡口舌地爭取別人——這其中包括她的父母、一位園藝專家以及很多素不相識的人——的幫助及捐贈，“凱蒂的作物”的影響范圍可能就會非常有限了。

認識凱蒂的人都說，不管是面對兩個人，還是面對一屋子里坐著的上百號人，她都能談笑自如。盡管凱蒂坦言自己沒有花足夠多的時間去籌集資金，但她表示自己的項目有幸獲得了繼續(xù)推進所需的資源。

鮑勃·貝克是當(dāng)?shù)氐囊晃晦r(nóng)民，當(dāng)他同意幫助凱蒂時，他并不知道自己參與的是什么項目。他第一次和凱蒂見面是在一次公開活動上，此前他曾在當(dāng)?shù)氐拿襟w上聽說過“凱蒂的作物”。凱蒂向貝克尋求幫助，而他本就樂善好施，因而便無法拒絕。很快，貝克就不知不覺地發(fā)現(xiàn)他在教凱蒂如何開拖拉機，還從自己的農(nóng)場騰出了空地讓她種菜。

“無論何時看到一個孩子在努力做某件事情，你都應(yīng)該幫一把?！必惪苏f。

幫忙的不止貝克一人。凱蒂以前的科學(xué)老師科里·富勒辭掉了她的專職教書工作，成為“凱蒂的作物”菜園的兼職栽培指導(dǎo)師。富勒說，她喜歡孩子們?yōu)榘ゐI的人開辟菜園種菜時那種投入的樣子。

貝克和其他了解凱蒂的人都說她有一種不同尋常的能力——即使有失敗的可能，她也無所畏懼。每當(dāng)有人對做出更多的努力表示反對時，她會簡單地反駁道：“為什么不繼續(xù)做下去呢？”老天自會安排好剩下的一切。

“她邁出一步，就會有人來幫助她，”貝克說，“她向前又邁出一步，接著再邁出一步，現(xiàn)在她的‘凱蒂的作物覆蓋的范圍正變得越來越大，已經(jīng)超出了她所在的南卡羅來納州?！?/p>

“凱蒂的作物”還一直在為其他州類似的菜園方案發(fā)放補助金。該組織的博客上全都是關(guān)于孩子們用補助金建起菜園從而為有需要的人提供食物的文章。凱蒂的生活與13歲女孩（編注：本文寫于2012年11月）的正常生活有著很大的不同。她必須在旅行、當(dāng)?shù)厥闹驹腹ぷ?、蔬菜種植以及社交生活之間尋求平衡。不過，她又是一個普通的女孩，她承認自己也想抽出時間在周末和朋友一起出去玩兒。她之所以與眾不同，就是因為她致力于為那些不太幸運的人種植糧食。

她不僅不覺得自己對所做的工作感到厭煩，還非常期待自己能夠開車的那一天，因為那時她就能在她的六個菜園里待得更久了。

“我現(xiàn)在過得特別開心，”她說，“我覺得我不會為了任何事情放棄我的菜園?！?