Unearthing the Garden’s Secret Helpers: Worms
As spring unfolded, our students embarked on an eye-opening journey into the intricate world of garden ecology. They uncovered the invaluable role played by worms, nature’s unsung heroes, in nurturing our green spaces. These humble creatures devour organic matter and fallen leaves, converting them into nutrient-rich soil that forms the bedrock of vibrant plant life. […]
Let’s Talk About Seeds!
We love teaching students where their food comes from. Did you know that a dormant seed contains everything that it needs to grow into a plant and grow food to eat? This month students learns the parts of a seed and then each was given a seed that had been soaked in water to awaken […]
Kids Learn About Pollination and Beekeeping
4th-grade students at Grandville South Elementary learned the importance of pollinators as they examined flower parts under magnifying glasses and bee parts under microscopes. One student told our staff he was excited to use a microscope for the first time! Student volunteers tried on a beekeeper’s suit and helped demonstrate how to care for bees. […]
February is a Good Month for Garden Planning
. Kids in 39 Wyoming Public Schools STEAM Â classrooms, 7 Team 21 after-school programs, 2 classrooms at South Elementary in Grandville, and 4 classrooms at Countryside Elementary in Byron Center, all planned their summer gardens in February. They began by learning why planting a variety of fruits and vegetables helps protect the garden from being […]
Pinecones Are For The Birds
Our Team 21 kids at 10 schools in Wyoming used pinecones, shortening, and bird seed in January to make pinecone bird feeders to hang in their school gardens. Pine cones are the perfect vessel for a handmade bird feeder. Our feathered friends are getting a winter treat made by the hands of children. If you […]
Gardening in January in west Michigan? Yes!
This month we installed a regenerative, no-till school garden at Godfrey Early Childhood Center in Wyoming. We were greeted with sunshine as we engaged in the process of covering the ground with cardboard, paper, leaves, and mulch. Soon a blanket of snow will cover the layers causing them to break down and create a […]
Is it Dirt or is it Soil?
This month 850 students at 3 Wyoming schools learned that “soil” is the scientific name for the ground in their school garden. They discovered that soil has both living (organisms, decaying matter. air and water) and non-living (clay, sand, silt) parts and that it is the living parts that add important nutrients to our food. […]
A New School Garden Install
Super Garden XV! Our recipe for a new garden at Godwin Middle School Ingredients: A big dump truck full of wood mulch (10 yards) A truck load of composted mulch (7 yards) At least 20 yard-waste bags of fall leaves Many sheets of cardboard from collapsed boxes 20 – 7th and 8th grade students 7 […]
Student Chefs Enjoy the Harvest
This week our youth garden chefs at Godfrey Middle School used their culinary skills to prepare a delectable salad. They enjoyed some mouthwatering melon and grilled veggies. Godfrey Middle lost their garden due to a school expansion so the produce was harvested at neighboring schools in Wyoming. Excess produce went home with students. We love […]
Harvest Time!
Harvest Time in our school gardens includes picking, weighing, washing, preparing, and tasting! Watch the excitement, in this video, as the students at West Godwin Elementary discover cucamelons growing from overhanging vines and show off the radishes, peppers, cucumbers, and other vegetables they have harvested. After harvesting, students took their vegetables to a scale where […]