


Mayor Michelle Wu got outside with Boston students Tuesday morning to tour one of the city’s budding summer gardening and outdoor classroom programs.
Wu and city officials arrived at the Higginson Lewis K-8 School in Roxbury on Tuesday morning to tour the the thriving garden with the CitySprouts’ Green Team Summer Program and Higher Ground summer students. Students walked the mayor through the garden and outdoor classroom during the visit.
The visit came just a day after Wu announced to the public she was pregnant and expecting her third child, which sais was a baby girl.
“It may be a new experience for the city, but not new for me,” Wu said. “I’ve had two kids while in office, and it’s certainly at times a chaotic and messy juggle, but one we see families across the city doing their very best to balance.”
Wu has stated she does not plan to take maternity leave and the pregnancy does not change her plans to run for reelection, though she has not officially launched her reelection campaign. She became the first Boston city councilor to give birth in office in 2014, and is now the first pregnant mayor of Boston.
The CitySprouts program which the mayor visited Tuesday is part of Boston’s Connect, Learn, and Explore summer initiative, designed to link students to their communities and skills like biking and swimming with sports, gardening and arts programs.
The summer gardening program is open to middle schoolers from age 10 to 14 in Boston and Cambridge and is tuition free, like the organization’s afterschool program during the school year. It also provides free daily lunch and weekly field trips.
The experience is tailored to teach students “gardening, cooking and leadership skills” and involves work in urban farms and gardens, STEAM-focused projects and field trips to meet with community leaders in local outdoor spaces, according to the CitySprouts website.
The two sessions this summer are “The Science Of Gardening” from July 8 to July 26 and “Growing Green Communities” from July 29 to August 9.