District News

School garden to expand in the spring

 

Jan. 30, 2012

 

How does a school garden grow? With sun, water, helping hands and, here in Canajoharie, a considerable boost from a $2,000 gift. The funds, granted by the Rural Health and Education Network of Delaware, Otsego, Montgomery and Schoharie Counties, will be used to expand a pilot garden program started this fall.

Located in the grass courtyard between the elementary and middle schools, the school garden was started this fall. First graders helped tend to four 10-foot-long garden beds, growing broccoli, a variety of lettuces, kale and a number of other cold-hearty crops.
“It was exciting to watch the students identify and label each of the crops,” says teacher Ann Marie Murphy. “The children really had a sense of pride and accomplishment as they harvested, washed and prepared some of the vitamin-packed food that they had grown."

The school garden grew out of work by the school district’s Wellness Action Committee, which was formed in the fall of 2010. “A lot of (the committee’s) initial energy was spent researching the various ways schools have been able to promote wellness,” says parent and garden committee chair Maryellen Driscoll. “We kept reading about how a school garden can be one of the most successful and positive ways to expose children to healthy foods and making healthy choices.”

Then Superintendent Richard Rose was particularly supportive of establishing a school garden, recalling a successful garden program at the elementary school in the early 1990s spearheaded by first grade teacher Patricia Lorence.

For the fall garden, Free Bird Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Palatine Bridge that Driscoll co-owns with husband Ken Fruehstorfer, provided transplants for a jump start. First graders students identified and labeled the plants and put a frost-protective cover over the beds. In October, first graders harvested more than a dozen heads of lettuce, washed and spun it dry in a 5-gallon salad spinner, and then enjoyed the lettuce for snack with carrots and salad dressing through the week. They wrote and drew pictures about the lettuce harvest and what they’d learned from the garden.

In a final activity early this November, first grade students were introduced to using rulers when measuring out spacing to plant garlic seed. In spring, they’ll continue to hone their measuring skills as the garlic pokes out of the ground and grows quickly from April through June.

“What an exciting way to incorporate math and science,” says teacher Michelle Ehle. “Students learn best when the experience is hands-on. We cannot wait for spring to arrive so we can measure and record the growth of the garlic plant.”
This spring the garden will double in size and include many spring crops that the students can care for and harvest before the school year is out. There will also be crops that will be ready for harvest in the fall, including popcorn and heritage pumpkins. Since the grounds around the school consist of fill, a lot of the garden funds will go to building raised beds and filling them with compost and soil.

A composting program is planned, so that students can compost scraps from any fruits or vegetables they bring in for snack. A school-wide salad day and fall harvest vegetable soup are also planned. Middle School Life Science students will use the garden this spring to tie into their studies, and technology students from the Middle School are looking at helping to build some of the infrastructure.

Any funds remaining from the grant will be channeled to other Wellness Action Committee programs that promote health and nutrition. The wellness committee meets monthly, and, in addition to the garden committee, consists of three additional subcommittees—fitness, playground and cafeteria. Anyone interested in volunteering to help with the garden or becoming involved in the Wellness Action Committee or one of its subcommittees can contact coordinators via e-mail at: wellness.committee@canjo.org.