Since its inception in 1791, Berwick Academy has educated students through a purposeful blend of academics, arts, and athletics. The curriculum is traditional in its roots yet innovative in its approach, fostering self-discipline, hard work, and healthy skill sets. Students here are encouraged to take risks, find their voice, and tap into the energy of campus life and community activities. As a PK-12 school, the campus garden is a place where the community can come together. Built during Summer 2022 (just in time for some Fall planting!) this garden consists of 12 raised beds located in the heart of campus, making it an accessible learning space for Lower, Middle, and Upper School Students.
The soil in the garden was donated by Mr. Fox Composting, the school’s composting service, so students witness the full cycle of food – from consumption to waste to soil in the garden. It is mainly a vegetable garden with most of the produce donated to a local food pantry, Footprints Food Pantry in Kittery, Maine. The rest of the produce is used by classes for cooking in the test kitchen.
Sarah Jeanne Shimer, Berwick Academy’s Sustainability Coordinator, oversees the garden and partners with classroom teachers to host students. Each division uses the garden in different ways. In the Spring of 2023, the garden was ready to plant for a full season, which allowed ample opportunity for student participation.
Lower School classes used the garden as a site for project work and individual lessons that aligned with their curriculum. First graders sponsored a bed, so they were in charge of planting, watering, weeding, and eventually harvesting! During the last week of school, they harvested the lettuce, kale, and radishes to make a salad in the test kitchen. Meanwhile, second graders started seeds in their classroom greenhouses and transplanted seedlings into the raised beds where they’ve been flourishing all Summer.
Middle School science classes use the garden to learn about plant life cycles and practice data collection. Sixth grade students tracked the peas and greens that they planted throughout the spring, measuring their growth and investigating variables that impacted these plants. The Garden Activity Period also tended to the garden each week, planting, watering, thinning, and labeling all of the vegetables.
Upper School students have several opportunities to engage with the garden inside and outside of the classroom. The Farm to Fork class in the Fall Trimester uses the garden as the basis for learning about plant growth, food preservation, and food distribution. The Plant Biology class also helps get the garden started in the Spring. Outside of the classroom, the student-run Garden Club hosts various activities in the garden such as preparing the beds, planting pollinator flowers, and tending to the beds.
Overall, the Berwick Academy Campus Garden has been a great addition to the campus as a space for students to learn more about the food they eat and food access in the broader community, and they are excited to see how the learning opportunities continue to expand in the years to come!
Want to know more?!
- Email Sarah Jeanne Shimer, PK-12 Sustainability Coordinator jeanne.shimer@berwickacademy.org
- Check out the Berwick Academy website https://www.berwickacademy.org/
