The Growing Gardens, Growing Minds school garden at Mount Desert Elementary School began over 10 years ago championed by a principal and committee who wanted to create an outdoor classroom committed to a vision of engaging authentic learning for students from kindergarten to eighth grade. Chosen as the School Garden of the Year in the 2026 School Garden of the Month Calendar, the school garden is featured on the calendar cover and also the month of December.
In addition to the MSGN School Garden of the Year designation, the MDES school garden also received a State of Maine Proclamation for being the 2026 School Garden of the Year from the Members of the Senate and House Representatives sponsored by Senator Nicole Grohoski.
If that wasn’t enough excitement for one year, Patricia Kelley, School Garden Coordinator, was also recently presented with the Elizabeth Abernathy Hull Award from the Garden Club of America! The Elizabeth Abernathy Hull Award is presented to an exceptional individual, who through working with children under 16 years of age in horticulture and the environment, have inspired their appreciation of the beauty and fragility of our planet. Created in memory of Elizabeth Abernathy Hull, this award reflects her belief in the power of education and nature to shape future generations. The Garden Club of Mount Desert nominated Patty and presented the award to her at a recent club meeting when Patty was giving a presentation to the club on Mount Desert Elementary’s school garden called Growing Gardens, Growing Minds!
One never knows how the page will turn each day. This morning, after sharing a short presentation about the Mount Desert Elementary school garden program with the Garden Club of Mount Desert at the Neighborhood House in Northeast Harbor, I was surprised with a great honor. Nominated by a garden club member, I have been named a recipient of the prestigious Elizabeth Abernathy Hull Award by The Garden Club of America. This national recognition honors individuals who inspire young learners to appreciate and protect the natural world. Established through the generosity and vision of Elizabeth Abernathy Hull, the award, with a generous check which I will use for my own continuing education in horticulture and gardening, reflects her lifelong devotion to nature, education and the arts. Now more than ever, children need to embrace and cherish nature and wildlife…..Much gratitude and thanks to the Garden Club of Mount Desert and The Garden Club of America for this very special award.
The MDES community based greenhouse project is designed to accompany the school gardens for teaching, providing children with healthy lifestyle choices and nutritional food as well as for building connections with people, nature, and sustainability. Raising generous donations and receiving local grants, an 18′ x 32′ greenhouse was constructed on the school property with propane heat, fans, electricity and water. In addition to being a growing space, it also functions as a classroom and work space when the weather makes being outdoors challenging.
Patty Kelley had been working as an Ed Tech in Special Education at the school (with previous experience at another school starting and overseeing a successful school garden for five years), when she was hired as the half-time garden and greenhouse coordinator/half-time ed tech to help the program thrive. Patty attributes a large part of the success of the MDES program to two things: the location of the school (in the middle of the village across from the library with people visiting the garden throughout the summer) as well as the strong financial support (offered by the parents and local community including the Garden Club of Mount Desert). The project would not have developed in the same manner without this location and vital community support.
Patty maintains a Facebook page with posts almost every week to keep the community aware of the activities in the school garden called Growing Gardens, Growing Minds. Posting on the Facebook page on a regular basis also gave her ample opportunity to take a lot of photographs. The ease in which her photos captured the students’ activities in the school garden contributed to her images being selected for the calendar cover and month of December. Check out the Facebook postings for inspiration!
Each year the MDES school garden holds a Plant Seedling Sale in May in their greenhouse run by the 6th graders. The students show great leadership running the farmer’s market style sale and step up as cashiers, carriers and greeters. Students are excited to be part of a community service project and the sale provides a lesson in good citizenship.
It’s already been quite a year for MDES with being named the School Garden of the Year, the Garden Club of America award and a proclamation from the State of Maine…wonder what 2026 will bring as calendars are opened across the state in January and viewers learn more about the importance of youth gardening in Maine?! Stay tuned!
Want to know more?!
- Patty Kelley, Garden and Greenhouse Coordinator, MDES, at kelley@mdirss.org.
- Garden Club of Mouth Desert website
- Garden Club of America website
- Growing Gardens, Growing Minds Facebook
- 2026 School Garden of the Month Calendar Order Forms
- Maine School Garden Network website
