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.
Plant Learn Grow would like to congratulate Mr. Ketler Louissaint on his new position as Superintendant IA for District 75. Mr. Louissaint has been a strong supporter of our schools’ gardening efforts for a long time. We hope he’s not too busy to plant with us again this spring!
Big things are happening at 133K, where our 369K students are involved in the construction of brand new beds for the spring. The former container garden is getting a hefty makeover. We can’t wait to see it in bloom.
Check out these photos from a late season harvest at 373K in Bushwick, Brooklyn last week! They are still growing eggplant, kale, callaloo, chard, peppers, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, and more. Amazing!
This is a reminder that the deadline for GrowNYC’s mini-grant is April 23, 2014. Kudos to Marie Yip at 751M for winning a grant!
Grow to Learn is pleased to announce a Spring 2014
Growing and Learning Together Grant
10 Grow to Learn-registered gardens in the South Bronx, Central Brooklyn, and East and Central Harlem* are eligible to receive $1,000 towards garden supplies and materials! What’s required to be in the running? See our grant guidelines below.
To qualify for the Growing and Learning Together Grant, schools must complete the following by Wednesday, April 23rd :
Interested in participating? Learn more and get started here!
Winners of the 2014 Growing and Learning Together Grant will be announced at the School Garden Socials! Checks must be made out to your school or school PTA and winning schools will receive their checks at the School Garden Social in their neighborhood.
*These areas were selected because they have been designated as priorities for NYC’s Department of Public Health with offices established to target resources and promote health equity and reduce health disparities.
Everybody is getting into local vegetable gardening. This article shows how first lady Michelle Obama tends her home garden (aka, the White House garden!) with students from local schools. Note the raised beds and the regional crops (Lincoln Oats and Paw Paws) she is growing.
I am not familiar with FoodCorps (read the article), but sounds like something to look into for our schools.
Leave It Better is an organization that helps schools grow food and helps kids to teach others about gardening through video storytelling. They are partnered with many NYC groups and programs, such as Grow to Learn, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Green Up, NYC Compost Project, and Bronxworks. In addition, Leave it Better provides HD cameras for students to document their learning and work.
Check out our students from from P94M, featured in our gardeners on the Leave It Better website.
D75 Plant Learn Grow 