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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2015)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 29, 2015 Making gains in the garden: According to the KidsGar- dening.org website, school gardens: Signifi cantly increase science achievement scores. Improve social skills and behavior. Improve environmental at- titudes. Instill appreciation and re- spect for nature. Improve life skills, includ- ing working with groups and self-understanding. Increase interest in eating fruits and vegetables and improve attitude toward fruits and vegetables. Improve/increase nutrition knowledge and vegetable preferences. Improved snacking choices. G ARDENS Continued from page 1A Garden Plant Sale, where most of the plants have been planted or transplanted by the garden class. Creslane Garden Plant Sale — Saturday, May 9 Contact: Bill Freid 541-895- 6166, Debbie Windheim 541- 520-7194. creslanekidsgarden@hotmail. com DORENA SCHOOL Things are busy, too, at the Dorena School Garden, where the 98 students are germinating seeds, transplanting seedlings, fi lling garden boxes and helping with a grant application to allow Live i h c a i r a M Band! old h o t s t ll u r nex n in a C you tio t bra que cele r ban ! ou room 11A them to purchase native plants. Now in its third year, the garden has grown into two distinct ar- eas. “One is a native garden area where we hope to attract native pollinator species and birds into our garden – there are already tadpoles swimming around in the pond!” says garden coordi- nator Valerie Rocco. “We have been installing natives into the area this spring, after a wonder- ful effort last fall to clean up the weeds and grass and mulch the whole area. “Our second area is a raised bed area where the students are fi lling up eight beds with garden soil purchased through a grant and many generous donors in our community. We are planting veggies and fruits and trying to get an irrigation system in place Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with classic Mexican dishes made from the freshest quality ingredients. Pair your meal with one of our delicious specialty margaritas, or one of our great Mexican beers. Cinco de Mayo Specials ALL DAY Ask your Server for details. El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant photo by LaRae Ash Harrison Elementary's garden offers a way for its students to get outdoors and even get dirty! The garden recently received a $5000 grant. so that the garden will grow in the summer when the students are no longer around.” The program has developed with the help of students, par- ents, staff and “many generous donors in the community,” Roc- co said. This year, she says the Dorena Garden could use pots for start- ing seeds, trellis materials, as- sistance for their irrigation sys- tem and volunteers to help make it all happen. Contact: Valerie Rocco 541- 946-1506 HARRISON ELEMENTARY “Things are happening in the Harrison Garden!” says teacher Shari Skadburg. “We were the recipients of a $5,000 grant by the Cow Creek Umpqua Indi- an Foundation, and additional funds from the Farm-to-School Grant. This allowed us to add a tool barn to our garden, built by Jerry Settelmeyer. We were also able to purchase more kid-sized tools and upgrade our adult tools.” The Harrison School Garden, which is in its third year, is lo- cated on the north playground of Harrison Elementary. Each year, the garden donates seed- lings and produce to the Com- munity Sharing Garden and the Cottage Grove Farm Stand. “This spring we are bring- ing the garden curriculum ‘Eat. Think. Grow’ to the K-2 classes, connecting our garden projects to the classroom,” Skadburg says. “We have been busy start- ing seeds in our greenhouse, pre- paring the beds for planting, and planting cool weather crops. We are looking forward to another beautiful Harrison garden and sharing with our community! She sends a “special thank you to all the people who are making things happen and to the businesses and individuals who have contributed donations of money or goods.” “We can always use volun- teers, so contact us if you would like to be a part of our garden!” Contact: Trish Gillespie, 541- 520-7871, Shari Skadburg, 541-767-5105 725 Gibbs, Cottage Grove, (541) 767-0457 AL KENNEDY ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOL The Sustainable Gardens at Al Kennedy Alternative High School involve students “in all aspects of growing, harvesting, preparing and enjoying food to- gether.” Started in 2007, the curricu- lum combines organic farming and seasonal cooking in an ef- fort to change “the way students and families eat, learn and cre- ate community.” Over the years, Kennedy stu- dents have assisted with many garden-related projects within the community. This year, In- structor Matt Hall says the gar- den is a little behind because students were busy in woodshop constructing seven of the “Little Libraries” that will soon dot the community. “However, the leaf mulched beds are being turned one by one, and fava beans, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, carrots, rad- ish, beets, onions, peas and cabbage have all been planted,” Hall says. “The fall planted gar- lic is looking strong and the over wintering broccoli has plenty of fl orets to harvest. Summer crops such as tomatoes, peppers and squash are already started in the greenhouse and will be planted in mid to late May. “And the students are busily planting seeds to produce plants for our annual plant sale.” The greatest challenge for the program is managing the garden during the summer break. Vol- unteers are needed to water and weed. Contact: Matt Hall 541-942- 1962 Plant Sale — Saturday May 16, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. All proceeds go to support the garden/greenhouse projects. LATHAM SCHOOL Each class at Latham Elemen- tary will enjoy its own section of garden this year, says Principal Anne Fisk. “And they enjoyed strawberries and pumpkins from their gardens last year.” Students at Latham not only Origins: The school garden movement S o me So e time t i me ti m e s, mes, s p a am m pe peri r ing ri ng i s no n t en enou ough ou u gh t o ke keep ep y ou our r fe f eet e et e h al he alth th hy. y I f you yo o u ar a e a se s e ni nior or o r ha h ve v f ee eet t th that at r eq equi uire ui re s pe p ci cial a c ar al are, e e, y yo o u’ u r re e n ot t a lo o ne ne.. Ou O u r serv Our se e rvic rv v ic c es a re e s pe p ci c al ally ly d es esig ig gne e d fo for r th thos o e os wh who h o ha ave v e t he h se a nd o th t er e m ed edic i al ic a l c on ondi d iti di ti i ons: on n s: s arthritis mobility limitations diabetes limited vision O r ce Ou cert r ifi rt fi e d Re Regi gi i st g ster ered er ed d N ur u se a ss s s es e sse sess an se nd ca care ress fo re forr yo y ur f ee eet: t : t: Nail trimming Debridement or buffi ng of corns and calluses Education regarding diabetic foot care Education for preventative care Home treatment for athlete’s foot and tinea pedis To o s ch c edul ed d ul l e an a pp p o oi i nt ntme m nt, me nt t , ca c all l l 5 41 ll 41-7 -767 -7 7 67 7-5 5 40 4 0. 0 1515 15 5 15 1 5 V il illa la age e D ri i ve ve, , Co Cott ttag tt ag g e G Gr rov r o ov ve, v e, O R 97 9 42 2 4 ww w w. w . pe peac aceh ac c eh ehea e lt ea l t h. h or org/ r g/ g/cg c gch cg c First recognized as an im- portant teaching tool in Eu- rope during the early 1800s, by 1869 the school garden was deemed so valuable that Austria issued a royal edict proclaiming that every school must provide one for its stu- dents. In America, the concept was a bit slower to take root, with school garden programs emerging around 1890 from the community garden move- ment, which saw gardening as a means to cure various social, moral and educational mala- dies. It was extremely popu- lar, and by 1906 the US Dept. of Agriculture estimated that there were more than 75,000 school gardens nationwide. At that time, gardens were seen to promote civic beau- tifi cation and to instill an ap- preciation of nature in youth. During WWI and II, Victory Gardens in homes, communi- ties and schools were promot- ed to demonstrate a love and commitment to country. enjoy the fruits of their labors and gain the hands-on skills that come with gardening, they learn of the importance of compost- ing through utilization of all the schools breakfast and lunch scraps. “Unfortunately,” Fisk says, the staff member who oversaw the garden is no longer with us. It would be nice to have some- one who could help us oversee the garden, as well as volunteers to assist with summer mainte- nance. Contact: Anne Fisk 541-942- 0147. LONDON SCHOOL Things are starting a bit slow this year, says teacher and gar- den coordinator Deb Henderson, but it’s all coming along, with a little help from their friends. “We always get a lot of sup- port from our neighbors at Ter- ritorial Seed, and the Bookmine has been very generous to us,” Henderson says. In the past three years, through a combination of grants, indi- vidual donations and the labor of many, London staff and vol- unteers created a large, art-fi lled garden surrounded by a 10-foot high fence. In the fall, staff and students harvested, prepared and shared their bounty with their supporters at a community din- ner at the little country school. This year, those who would like to have their own family beds within the fenced garden in exchange for helping main- tain the student beds through the summer are invited to apply for space. “And we are always in need of folks who want to volunteer to help with garden upkeep – es- pecially folks who are willing to work with students in the gar- den,” Henderson adds. For those who would like to learn more — or to apply for a family garden space — a meet- ing is being held on April 29 at 2 p.m. Contact: Deb Henderson, 541-942-0183 After WWII, interest de- clined until the 1970s and the environmental movement, but by the 1990s, school gardens were back and growing. In Oregon, the Farm-to- School program, which began in the 1990s, has been focused on increasing the number of schools with an edible gar- den that are: actively used for education; contributing to the school’s meal program; have a dedicated, funded staff po- sition. Its goal was to have at least one garden in every county. There are now more than 500 school gardens in Oregon alone. Recently, Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and created the Farm to School Competitive Grant Program in which $5 million annually is awarded for “train- ing, planning, purchasing equipment, building school gardens and developing part- nerships to create new or sup- port existing programs.” The program is designed to improve the nutritional health and well being of children, support experiential nutrition education activities and pro- cure local foods from small and medium-sized farms.
