April Brewer-Drewel is known by kids at Jefferson City's Special Learning Center (SLC) as the "Garden Lady."
The garden at the SLC has a special meaning for the mother of four.
It reminds her of her son, Alex Joshua Brewer, who died at the age of 4½ from complications with a metabolic disorder.
"My son went here and received all of their services from 1 year old to September 2008," Brewer-Drewel said of the SLC.
In spring 2010, she went around town and found sponsors for the SLC's landscaping and a new garden. Some sponsors include Hy-Vee and Mueller Landscaping.
She began her work by redoing all of the center's landscaping, including building two memory gardens - one in memory of her son and one in memory of a child named Jade.
Part of the idea for a garden came from Alex being on a low-protein diet. He ate a lot of fruits and vegetables because he couldn't eat meat, dairy or legumes.
"Also being a parent of a special needs child, I found that a lot of my money was going elsewhere for feeding supplies, formulas, medications," she said. "Looking for bills to cut, groceries were the first thing."
Kids at the SLC pick the fruits and vegetables, are taught how to clean them and then help make them into a healthy, tasty treat.
Lindsey Koelling, a dietitian at Hy-Vee, helps them do so. This year, the SLC received a $750 grant from Hy-Vee to help fund the garden.
"It gives them a chance to try new things with their peers," Koelling said. "They're always up for new recipes and ideas."
Last year, they made salsa.
Koelling said this year, she hopes to do something with the soybeans and sunflowers.
Brewer-Drewel said the garden is her therapy. She tends to it every year.
"It allows me to get away from the stresses of life," she said. "The biggest fear for a grieving mother is that her child will be forgotten, and because of this, he (Alex) will not. Everyone is still graced with his presence."