New London County School Garden Network Update

Summer Meeting of the School Garden Network

Join us at the summer meeting of the New London County School Garden Network!  We will be meeting at the FRESH Community Garden on July 22, at 10:00am. The garden is at the corner of Williams and Mercer Streets. We expect a low-key meeting with a lot of opportunities to share how your garden projects are going, to see the FRESH Garden  and learn more about FRESH New London and carve out a plan for future meetings and learning events. Join us!!!

Growing and Learning

Kate Callahan, from Grow Windham at our May School Garden Network Meeting

We want to thank Kate Callahan from Grow Windham for sharing curriculum for children in grades K-5. Through her work as a Food Corps Worker, Kate created learning modules, which correspond the objectives of the Common Core with hands-on learning activities in the garden. These bins will be recreated and housed at FRESH New London office in New London. Teachers and school garden coordinators can then simply check them out for use in their classrooms. Books are on order and bins will be ready soon.

Congratulations to our 2015 Outdoor Edible Garden Mini-Grant Recipients

Bacon Academy
Stonington High School
Integrated Day Charter School
Kelly Middle School
Robert E. Fitch High school
C.B. Jennings Elementary
Mary Morrisson Elementary
Great Neck Elementary
Voluntown Elementary 

Keeping in Touch During Summer Months                         
By Lauren Hickey, Senior at Bacon Academy, Colchester, CT

Planting Day at Mary Morrisson Elem.

Bacon Academy (Colchester’s public high school) is an enthusiastic first-timer on the school gardening scene. We were one of this year’s overly-ecstatic recipients of an Outdoor Edible School Garden Mini-Grant, which has since been used to ignite our program. 

School gardeners know that the peak of the growing season in New England is so...conveniently timed for schools' summer vacation. But, as pious believers in seeds and sunlight, we never doubt that our plants, programs, and projects can thrive with a little nurturing. So without further ado, after "weeding" out what not to do, here are a few humble school gardening suggestions we have come to realize this year. 

Keep it manageable. What works for you? Before buckling down for finals week, we rounded up a small team (two juniors, two seniors, and an AP biology teacher/Community Activism teacher/garden guru/advisor) and assembled a rotating weekly summer schedule since we have a very small operation (5 raised beds) and no real need for intensive maintenance. Our “Greensfest Salad Day” event to kick-off the next school year (serving free salad fresh from our garden) would keep the summer months focused.  We also tracked down Eimy Acevado, a graduate of Bacon and a Food Corps hero in Norwich, for some materials and advice.

Reach out and connect to as many students as possible. We found out that our “Unique Learner,” or special education, program meets daily in the months of June and July. We called on them to water, weed, and even snack at the garden when they had time. Also, we caught wind of a summer lunch program at our elementary school run by the Youth Services division of our Parks and Recreation department. They were happy to take any donations of fresh veggies to put on the plates of those kids most in need of a healthy meal!

Bacon Academy - Beautiful Beds for their Students

Make connections and rally community support. In times when there is a bit more waiting than working, root out other ways to reach potential supporters and advocates of your project. One crisp Sunday morning, we pitched a tent and table at our local farmers market, hung up some posters and a banner, spread out some flyers, laid a basket of snow peas from our garden on the table, and perched to reel in the first lucky shopper to make eye contact (just like any expert salespeople). Among the most interesting and interested passersby were: our current First Selectman, a member of our Board of Selectmen looking to run for First Selectman this fall, a familiar teacher and advocate from the high school, a few young and enthusiastic mothers, a member of the local Vegetarian Society, a culinary teacher from the town next door, avid gardeners, young couples, older couples, and more! We hit the jackpot. A few minutes of face-to-face connection is worth a thousand words of newsletters and press releases (if you talk fast)! Events like these are what build your support systems from the ground up.                                                                                                                  Thank you Lauren for writing for our Blog!  I hope that everyone will consider making a contribution to our New London County School Garden Network Blog.  Please send your writings, garden photos, recipes, and garden ideas to Cindy Barry at Cbarry@llhd.org or call me at Ledge Light Health District at 860-448-4882 and let's grow our Blog!

The New London County School Garden Network is an initiative of the Farm Fresh New London County Schools, a USDA Farm to School Support Program. Funding for School Garden Mini-Grants is provided by the USDA and CT Department of Public Health.