We had a great 2011. Our garden project was funded by the State Department of Education, Boy Scouts helped us to build our garden, and we were able to get the entire school involved one way or another in the garden.
For 2012 we are trying some new things. We have started a garden committee to involve more parents in the process of growing our garden. This already seems to be a wonderful development and we are looking forward to having more parents join the ranks on the garden committee. We also were able to get an additional grant from the State Department to make our garden even better. Our plans now are to increase the number of garden boxes we have, add winter boxes, finish our strawberry boxes, add paving stones, and to put weed cloth between the beds.
Willow Creek was also selected as one of only a few schools to pilot a garden curriculum through the USDA. Mrs. Rosenbaum and Mrs. Clements are using this curriculum to teach their students about health and gardening. So far the kids favorite lesson was tasting a variety of vegetables including beets, swiss chard, carrots, raspberries, and many others. They were great sports and found some vegetables that they liked that they had never tried before. Thanks USDA for giving us this opportunity!
We are also looking for donations and help in the garden. If you are willing to help us out please email me at akoenig@nsd131.org.
