Educator Richard Sidy (pronounced like “city”) taught for close to 40 years. He started his career in Los Angeles before he and his wife moved to Sedona in 1982. He taught at his own private school, at the Verde Valley School and then finished up his teaching career at Flagstaff High School. He also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Cote d’Ivoire in Africa. Richard’s current role is that of president of Gardens for Humanity. He has served as president of the nonprofit since 2010. When he retired from education in 2008, he was searching for his next opportunity. His neighbor, Gardens for Humanity founder, artist and writer, Adele Seronde, suggested the nonprofit she founded way back in 1996. “Our mission is to develop and share our relationship with humanity and nature through gardening, art and education. Our real central mission is our involvement with schools,” he says.
The organization has gardens at five different schools in the area. Some of its other programs include a free seed library, The Verde Thumbs Garden Club, art activities and community classes. But the main focus is on educating young people. One of his most rewarding moments? When a child, after drawing a flower, said that he would never look at a flower the same way again. “They learn many of life’s important lessons through gardening like the importance of planting seeds, the importance of taking care of them and responsibility to the knowledge of how a garden fits into the greater habitat with other living beings,” he says. Richard takes his role as an educator seriously and has continued to educate others in retirement.
“I view people as seeds. That my role as a human being, as a teacher, as a parent, is to nurture that seed, just like a gardener, so that it fulfills its potential,” he says. He also sees gardening as being a way to develop healthier relationships and not just with other people. “The metaphor or the filter of gardening is really very important because the values of gardening are all the values that you have in a good relationship. And good environmentalism is nothing more than having a good relationship with nature,” he says. “We nourish plants. We take care of them, and that also makes us successful.” Visit gardensforhumanity.org for more information. – By Teresa K. Traverse
