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!
On June 10, two of our PLG schools, 811X and 94M, participated in the Leave it Better Film Festival at the New York Botanical Garden. Their films were shown on the big screen, and they participated in outdoor activity stations including making chlorophyll prints with spinach leaves and learning about seed dispersal with Greg.
On May 6 and 13, Plant-Learn-Grow teachers had a special workshop at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. They visited the Edible Garden, sifted compost, and made indoor worm bins. They also had a great time!
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!
As part of Family Day at 754X this past Saturday, teachers and students built chicken coops for their new fine feathered friends that are hatching!
Jeremy K of 721X writes that “We have 300 plus plants started. We’re comparing florescent and LED lighting.”
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.
D75 Plant Learn Grow 