BJHS Huskies' Garden of Eatin'

Category
School Vegetable Garden, School Flower Garden, Farm to Cafeteria, Nutrition Education/Cooking with Students, School Composting

When was your garden project started?
Spring 2012

What type of facility hosts your garden?
Public School, Middle School

What does your garden project include?
Vegetables, Flowers, Composting Bin, Composting School Waste, Our Garden Produce Used in Cafeteria, Cooking or Taste Testing in Classroom

Who volunteers in your garden?
Teachers, School Staff, Parents, Grandparents/Other Family Members, Students outside of school day, Family Members

How is your garden project funded?
Grants, Donations, Sale of Seeds, Plants, Vegetable

What community connections do you have?
Local Farmers, Other Local Businesses, Food Pantries, Elder Groups

Who tends the garden when school’s out?
Volunteer students/families, Other volunteers, Me!

What are your future goals?
The goal of the school garden is: 1. To integrate gardening into our current curriculum—allowing students to connect concepts learned through direct instruction to real-life, “hands-on” applications. 2. To provide an opportunity for experiential learning in an outdoor-learning space. 3. To raise student awareness about where food comes from and its nutritional value. 4. To grow food for the Family and Consumer Science cooking activities. 5. To grow some of our own healthy snacks for the school Wellness Committee snack cart. 6. For every student to have an opportunity to connect with the garden. The garden will offer experiential learning opportunities for curriculum (see previously listed curriculum connections). It can also be used as an outdoor classroom, a reading space and for advisor activities. The design will allow for wheelchair accessibility. Use of the garden could be extended to Coffin and HBS. A school garden is a great way to connect with the community—local farms, local businesses, local food pantries, parent and community volunteers, and master gardeners. It offers opportunities for service learning and volunteer hours.

What is your most significant need?
Volunteers!

Any other comments?
The Brunswick Junior High Wellness Team (a group of 6 teachers), members of the Green Team and a variety of teachers, parents, and students have all worked together over the past school year and the summer to create a spectacular example of the positive results of working together towards a common goal. With grants from Let’s Go and the Brunswick School Department and donations from generous local businesses we were able to establish a school garden. We also started an afterschool program, the Green Team, that focuses on greening our school. It consists of students, parents, teachers, staff, and community members. This group along with the Wellness Team planned and maintained the garden. Our Alternative Education students built the raised beds last spring, and the Functional Life Skills students have helped water and harvest. The vegetables grown have been used to supplement foods provided in the BJHS lunch program, in our Healthy Snack Cart and in Health classes. Produce from the garden was also donated to the local food panty, the homeless shelter and local nursing homes. The was included in our spring wellness night that focused on educating the community on healthy lifestyles. We also had a fall harvest night where all food was made using vegetables and herbs from the school garden. This year, we are creating another garden in the back courtyard area with blueberries, strawberries, squashes, potatoes and more.