Members of a Vicksburg gardening club are finding ways to reach children and winning awards along the way.

The Green Hills Garden Club won a National Garden Club President’s Award.

“We were really excited because our garden club had never won a national award,” club member Gale Waits said. “We were really kind of surprised.”

The National Garden Club president Linda Nelson’s project, Making A World of Difference — Choices Matter, was about “promoting education for responsible choices.” Air, water, forest, land and wildlife were the five categories garden clubs across the country educated others on and applied to win through the national organization.

“We had no idea when we submitted that we would even be in the running. We had never done anything like this,” club member Pat Tisdale said.

Green Hills won second place in the air category for three of its member’s dedication to educating kids about gardening and the environment in after-school programs.

The club applied for all five awards and was surprised to learn of their second-place finish in air.

“We had discussed with the children the importance of cleaning up air and what people can do to help clean the air,” Waites said.

This award was the club’s first national one, and it came with a $100 prize. The club plans to use the money on supplies for the after -school program.

“It all a started out with our garden club. We just wanted to share our love of gardening with the kids,” Tisdale said.

Green Hills president Janis Koestler came up with the idea to work with children in after school programs, and she volunteers with St. Francis Elementary about six times a year.

Koestler gives a lot of credit to Waites and Tisdale, who volunteer at Good Shepherd Community Center at least one afternoon a month during the school year and once a week during July.

“It’s important to start young to help improve our environment and our community,” Waits said.

The after-school program begins with the women helping tutor the children as they do their homework. Then, on Fridays they give the students a lesson or read them a book about the outdoors and the environment. The 12-student class ranges from kindergarten to sixth grade.

“They’re just like little sponges,” Tisdale said. “They soak up everything.”

The group kicked off its fall series this week by learning about recycling. Next time they will start a project making a sculpture out of recycled items. In the past, they’ve made flowerpots and bird feeders.

“I enjoy everything because we do fun activities and plant gardens. We color, we learn many things,” after school student Keyasia Scott said.

Tisdale enjoys watching the children enjoy themselves while learning.

“I think it just gives our kids an appreciation for the things around them that they’ve never noticed before. We’re just trying to teach them a little bit of ecology, trying to make them appreciate the world they live in and to try to take care of it,” Tisdale said.

“It’s just overwhelming to see all the things they’ve been able to do together,” Miller said.