Community Garden
Some Copper Ridge School students enjoying their amazing garden!
A note from our friends at the Copper Ridge School in Scottsdale about the progress of their Community Garden:
"Thought you'd like to see some progress. Mrs. Hubbell says the kids walk into class everyday asking when they can head out to the garden! Let me know when we can meet so you can take a look!"
10.29.2011
A wonderful update from Karen, the master gardener helping bring the Community Garden to life - don't miss the pictures below!
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Hello everyone!
We had such a wonderful day in the garden yesterday. I planted herbs in the circular bed with Ms. Rodriguez and her 4th grade class. What fun the 9 year olds had in the dirt! We smelled the lemon grass, felt the rough sage leaves and tasted the sweet stevia. We then measured the circumference, diameter and radius of the garden and divided the bed into 6 pieces like a pie. The children wrote in their journals to document their observations and experiences. Even Ms. Defyter the vice-principal joined us by getting her hands in the dirt and planting a few herbs. One young lady suggested they use their plants to make delicious pizzas and use the geometry they learned from the garden that morning. What a great tie-in to the curriculum
Ms. Lugo's 4th grade will add peas, beans and carrots on Friday afternoon to their tomato, pepper and tomatillo garden. We even have a "Cabbage Growing Contest" going on with the 150 third graders. I'll give them a hybrid cabbage seedling, and if nurtured properly, each cabbage has the possibility to grow 3 feet in diameter and weigh as much as 90 pounds! Oh, the coleslaw we will enjoy in March!
Of course, Ms. Hubbell's 5th grade "Square Foot - Salad Garden" is well underway. We started there. Each student chose a vegetable to grow in a 1'x1' square space. Once their observations are documented into their gardening journals and the experiment is through, they will enjoy a home grown salad feast.
I'm hearing lots of positive feedback and see many smiles as students, teachers and parents walk through the new garden space. That makes me smile too.
10.20.2011
A couple of photos of the beautiful garden beds installed at the Copper Ridge School - we can't wait to see the first signs of life as the veggies start to grow! We'll be sure to check back in shortly with a complete list of everything they're planting.
10.18.2011
They're breaking ground at the garden today - looks like the planting will begin this afternoon and go through the rest of the week. We'll report on what they planted and post some pictures here as soon as we've got them!
10.17.2011
We are absolutely thrilled about the upcoming launch of our new Community Garden project at the Copper Ridge school in Scottsdale. One of our owners, John Stewart, has been working with administrators at the school to bring this project to life - all in the name of teaching kids about good nutrition. The garden will serve as a place for students to learn the ins and outs of healthy eating: they'll get a real world glimpse into where fruits and veggies comes from, how they're used (both in the raw and as a part of other foods), and how good they are for bodies and minds. Not to mention - and maybe most importantly - they'll have a great time planting, tending, harvesting, and getting their hands dirty!
We hope the garden serves as a foundation for health and nutrition education, but we also envision it becoming part of the school curriculum in other ways. The potential is limitless in terms of how this can be beneficial for the entire school community; we'll look forward to watching it grow and maybe even springing up in other schools!