We can’t seem to keep these chickens out of the news! Congrats to the 754X Garden Club for being featured in Edible Bronx. That would make them the second D75 school to be featured this year! (P 811X was featured back in September for their healthy eating initiatives. Check out their article here.)
District 75 teachers gathered last week for a fun and productive workshop about hydroponics and indoor growing. Indoor methods are great to use if you don’t have outdoor space or it is too cold to go outside. If you missed the PD but want to be part of the movement, please send an email to ccoffin@schools.nyc.gov to be added to our indoor gardening group. We can’t wait to see the results!
Thanks to teacher Melanie Tiang for sharing these photos of her students beginning their year-long garden investigation at the New York Botanical Gardens. Students from 10 different schools have been exploring, making observations and collecting data in Brooklyn and the Bronx and will be sharing their findings with us at the end of the year. Great work, everyone!
Teachers, there are a few spaces still available for the D 75 Hydroponics PD coming up next week. You will learn about both simple and complex systems made from reusable everyday materials, and will construct at least one model to take back to the classroom. To register, got to http://www.district75pd.org and register under Applied Learning. We hope to see you there!
Hello Plant Learn Growers! We have just announced an exciting year-long field investigation study to be conducted for 10 selected schools from The Bronx and Brooklyn. Each of the schools will visit their respective Botanical Garden four times throughout the year to make observations, collect data, and learn about our natural environment. D 75 staff attended the New York Botanical Garden staff training day on Wednesday to work with garden staff in preparation for our students’ initial visits. More to come!
Welcome back, school gardeners! There are so many exciting things going on this year with Plant Learn Grow, we can’t wait to share them all with you. For starters, our first PD of the year, for beginners or those just starting out with their school gardens, is on Friday, Sept 30, at 373 K. We hope to see you there!
Last week, 811X held a two day Garden Event that included every class in the school. Students planted, watered, sifted compost, constructed hydroponic systems, designed signs, and created paintings and poetry inspired by nature. Outdoor classrooms were set-up for painting and arts, and musical performances had everyone dancing. For two days, the horticulture team turned the school into an interactive and fun outdoor learning space. It was awesome!
Congratulations to the 811X Horticulture team for their workshop on “Seed Harvesting in the Classroom” presented at the City Grower’s Education Conference on Saturday, February 27. They led an incredible workshop and represented D75 and Plant Learn Grow to the fullest!
Check out the amazing Stephen Ritz in this NPR segment called How a Great Teacher Cultivates Veggies (And Kids) in the Bronx. Go Steve!!
Last week, PLG visited NYC’s first Net Zero School, PS 62, The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability at Sandy Ground. It was awesome! We saw bikes that generate power for the building, nearly 2,000 solar panels, and green technology used in lighting and classrooms that we have never seen before . The building even uses geothermal wells for heat and AC. In case you are wondering, “net zero” means that the school will produce as much energy as it uses. Big thanks to Principal Lisa Sarnicola for showing us around.
d75plantlearngrow.com 