You’re invited to attend
on Saturday May 13th, 2023
at Reeds Brook Middle School in Hampden.
Theme: School Gardens: Connecting the Whole School Community
Focus on the 3 C’s: Classroom, Cafeteria and Community.
Our host, Reeds Brook Middle School/RSU 22, is a participant this year of the Maine Farm and Sea to School Institute. They are looking forward to sharing some of their initiatives with our community!
Highlights of the day include:
A chef prepared lunch highlighting local ingredients!
Blackened Fish or Cauliflower Tacos with lime crema, pickled onions and grilled pineapple salsa served on flour or GF corn tortillas plus a Reeds School Garden Spring Salad!
Regional Community Roundtable Discussion Groups will offer a time to connect with others in your area to share ideas, resources and collaborate.
Tours of the grounds.
Garden workshop topics include: Beekeeping, Pollinators, Soil Health and Diversity, Rainwater Harvesting plus Working with Native Plants!
Earn up to 0.65 CEUs for attending.
Door prizes include: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens day pass for two, Proven Winners booklets/seeds plus ChopChop and Edible Maine magazines!
Raffle to benefit MSGN!
Tickets: $5 each or 5 tickets for $20 (CASH is appreciated!)
AGENDA
8:15-9 am Registration: Breakfast, networking, exhibition tables, Raffle tickets
9-9:15 am Opening Remarks
9:20-10 am Keynote Speaker
10:15 -11 am Regional Community Round Table Discussion
11-11:45 am Lunch plus conversation on local procurement
12-12:45 pm Garden Tours of the campus/ different garden spaces
1-3 pm Afternoon Garden Workshops (3 sessions)
Workshop Topics:
- Beekeeping with Dr. Phil Fanning, University of Maine
- Pollinators with Laurie Bowen, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Piscataquis County
- Soil Health and Diversity with Michael Ward, Ward Land and Ranch Restoration
- Rainwater Harvesting and Irrigation with Maggie Blumenthal, Etna Dixmont Elementary and Ryan Parker, FoodCorps
- Working with Native Plants in accessible spaces to help students build relationships to place with Nell Houde, Wild Seed Project
3:00-3:30 pm RAFFLE Drawing and Closing Remarks
About Maine School Garden Day
Since 2005, the Maine School Garden Network has offered the Maine School Garden Day event to provide topic specific workshops, garden tours, networking opportunities and more for school garden volunteers, coordinators and educators! Interested educators can obtain CEU’s for participation in the event upon request.
In an effort to be accessible to educators around the state, Maine School Garden Day is held in a different location each year.
Past locations include:
- Troy Howard Middle School
- Medomak Valley High School
- Buckfield Jr.Sr High School
- Maine Academy of Natural Sciences
- Trenton Elementary School
- Reeds Brook Middle School
- Connors School Garden
During 2021 as a result of the pandemic, the in-person event was presented as a series of five webinars. Recorded using Zoom, these webinars are available on our YouTube channel.
The 2021 Maine School Garden Days webinars include:
- Jumpstart Your Garden includes Summer maintenance and a tour of the East End school garden.
- Planning Ahead: Back to School Gardens and Nutrition Education Connections include how to set up your space for low summer maintenance and be ready to roll in September, a garden tour at the Alfond Youth and Community Center plus a presentation on nutrition connections.
- Taste Test and Harvest of the Month includes connections between the school garden, taste tests, and Maine’s Harvest of the Month program with a tour of RSU 22 school gardens.
- Connecting School Gardens to Classrooms and Cafeteria presented by Falmouth Schools showcases the connection between the school orchard, gardens, classrooms and cafeteria including a food demo, tour of the school garden plus a presentation by Maine Agriculture in the Classroom to showcase resources, lessons and programs.
- Building Long-term Support: School Boards, Administrators, Public Panel focused on ways to build long-term support for your garden and farm to school programming.
Sponsorship Opportunity Available
If you or your business are interested in sponsoring Maine School Garden Day, please contact Susan Joy Sager, Coordinator, at susan@msgn.org.
Interested In Hosting?
Are you interested in hosting Maine School Garden Day 2024 at your school? If so, please contact Rachel Solomon, Program Organizer, at rachel@msgn.org for more information. Thank you!
