Submitted by Mary Ann McGann
It was a true farm-to-table experience at Warren Township elementary schools recently as students harvested the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor from carefully tended school gardens, before enjoying the fresh produce at lunch.
Whether raspberries, carrots and potatoes at ALT, kale and tomatoes at Central or radishes, spinach and Ruby Red swiss chard at Mt. Horeb, it doesn’t get much fresher than this.
“I’m holding in my hand a plate of food, all of which was grown here at Mt. Horeb,” said Principal Scott Cook who, with students and staff, dedicated the school’s new garden last spring.
At Central, Reach teacher Jill Zimmer used money she received as a past recipient of the Excellence in Education award to provide the necessary start-up supplies to build six raised garden beds with the help of an Eagle Scout.
First installed in May 2013, the Central garden provides a hands-on, real life education.
“The idea behind the garden is to get kids excited about eating healthy, organically-grown foods and to better understand where our food comes from,” Zimmer says. “Kids who help with growing food are more amenable to tasting these foods and to eating more fruits and vegetables in general.”
“It’s really good,” said a Central third grader, as she and her classmates gave the fresh salad a universal thumbs up. Woodland students grow carrots and radishes, among other veggies, in a courtyard garden that flourishes in the spring. And, at ALT, the list of homegrown produce includes strawberries, asparagus, snow peas, broccoli, cantaloupe, and much, much more.
“The garden was started back in 2007. Our first planting was a bulb garden that had flowers through the last 3-4 months of school,” says ALT ASAP teacher Mary Balkonis. “About 7 years ago, it grew to include more planting beds and we began to have our salad days. Several of the beds were used for perennial flower beds to complement the second grade butterfly unit and the third grade plant life cycle unit. The rest of the beds are used for fruits and vegetables.”
The school gardens are a community effort, bringing together students, staff, parents, local scout troops and others as all work together year-round to water, weed, and harvest the bounty.
(above) Second graders (from left) Alyssa Hammoud, Valentina Galitis, and Angelina Bien-Aime dig for potatoes in ALT’s garden, which has been yielding fruits, vegetables and flowers for nearly a decade. Photos by Warren Township Schools.
(above) Mt. Horeb first grader Aydin Cakirdas is all smiles as he samples a salad fresh from his school garden.
(above) Central 3rd grader Ashley Parker enjoys a true farm-to-table experience with fresh produce from the school garden.
Photos by Warren Township Schools.
