Schoolyard Gardens Program

The brand new East Somerville school building now has a spacious new garden to boot! Last week, we got nine classes – about 160 students total – out into the garden. Some students were discovering the garden for the first time. Upon arriving to the garden each class was introduced to the garden and reminded that the garden belongs to them, and that with their help it will grow into a beautiful, productive place to learn, play and sustain them. Students weeded, watered, planted, and added compost to the new beds. October is the perfect time for planting cover crops and garlic, so we planted 4 beds of winter rye and 3 beds (plus one small corner) of garlic.

On the borders of the beds, come spring, the garden will be full of color, due to the tulip and narcissus bulbs that the students planted. Less pretty, but certainly very essential to the sustainability of our garden, is the compost bin that the students installed. The younger students, especially, enjoyed observing our productive worms, which turn the food and garden scraps into dark, rich soil that will boost the fertility of the garden. In addition to being able to get outside and move their bodies, students learned some basic garden science concepts, such as the life cycle of bulbs, the process of composting, how to broadcast seeds, and why we use cover crops.

Last week’s planting day was just the beginning with the East Somerville Garden, which will be used as one of several sites for our on-going after-school Healthy Education program this fall and spring – and for many future growing seasons!

The spring brought unpredictable weather, but also tasty growing veggies (especially lettuce), to our school gardens! Our 9 clubs at 8 different schools focused on "Healthy Eating" and gardening. Students learned about many different kinds of plants and parts of plants used in food, how different fruits, vegetables, and grains help our bodies grow strong, and how to make delicious, healthy snacks.  Favorite lessons included "Leafy Greens" and "Honey & Maple Syrup".  They also worked the soil, planted seeds and seedlings, and weeded and watered their growing gardens; 90% of club members said they liked gardening this spring, and 95% loved making snacks.  Also this May, 5 students from our Healey School garden program and a Groundwork staff member were invited to help the First Lady harvest from the White House Kitchen Garden--an amazing opportunity!

Now that summer is here, a team of community volunteers--our Watering Heroes--help maintain our school gardens and South Street Farm, along with our Green Team of high school youth.  In addition, we just kicked off our Garden Youth Crew program for middle school students; they'll learn gardening, teamwork, and job skills while completing projects at the Healey School and East Somerville School. 

Links:

• Healey Students Return to White House for Kitchen Garden Harvest