In the sweaty days of August during our teacher prep week, we were approached by two enthusiastic parents about starting a volunteer garden club. It was a busy week with a long list of tasks and, to be honest, the gardens weren’t high on my to-do list. Nevertheless, the pair had such enthusiasm, I found myself feeling excited about the prospects of having new energy focused on our gardening program. As leaders of the school, we receive a number of “you should” ideas, and it was refreshing to hear someone describe what they wanted to do. Within days, they were outside in the heat weeding outdoor classroom areas and making plans for how to best set up the gardens.
Over many months, the garden club met on Saturday mornings to continue the weeding, install beautiful new raised beds filled with fresh soil, and eventually add an array of flowers and other plants. As we moved into late September, classes planted carrots, peas, kale, radishes, beets, basil, tomatoes, and more flowers. With all the extra attention, it’s been a banner year for the gardens. The garden club has kept an eye on things, and stepped in whenever help was needed.
Most recently, they held an after school event to highlight the gardens. They set up a table at the school entrance to offer gardening tips, share a planting guide, and distribute seeds. One of the garden club parents also had plants for sale, including strawberries and tomatoes. They even distributed suggestions for how to manage stinknet weed.
Part of the intention for the event was to raise awareness about the garden club and Seed gardening program. Families were invited to help remove weeds in outdoor classroom areas by using hula hoes. We had a few takers on this invitation and a couple families, kids and parents, spent some quality time removing weeds.
Next Wednesday, members of the garden club will again be available to answer questions and share information about this worthwhile part of the Seed’s outdoor program. We invite you to participate in any way you can if you have an interest, and consider adding gardening to your life if you feel inclined. So many life lessons are available to children when they learn how to grow their own food and other plants. Let us know how we can support your family in this process. And a big thanks to the gardening club for giving our gardening program such a boost this year.