Hopewell Christian Academy Plants New Garden for Earth Week

Hopewell Christian Academy in Norcross celebrated Earth Week on Wednesday (April 24) by getting the students involved in planting a new set of crops in its community garden.

Each class had its own time to go out to "Hopewell's Organic Garden of Hope," which had just been harvested of its winter vegetables. They planted a variety of different items for the spring: strawberries, peaches, rosemary, basil, watermelon, carrots, lettuce, spinach, broccoli and more.

The students also prepared the soil by weeding out the garden's three beds and digging up holes. Additionally, the students started a pollinator garden to attract insects such as ladybugs and bees.

"We're rapidly losing our pollinators, and pollinators are what give us food," said Christina Coleman, the school's sustainability resource employee and organic enthusiast who spearheaded the garden project. "What's really important for the kids to understand is that we've covered lands with pesticides, so pollinators are dying off."

The Captain Planet Foundation and RE Cares helped fund the project, which has played an integral part at the school. In addition to teaching the kids how to garden, the produce it creates actually ends up on the students' plates for lunch.

Planting the new season of crops is the first time the school has incorporated the garden into its core curriculum, too. On Friday, all the students will be given the assignment to write to First Lady Michelle Obama since she was part of the inspiration for the garden. Coleman explained that Obama has been taking care of her own organic garden which had been Eleanor Roosevelt's.

See also:

• 13 Things to Do for Earth Day
• How to Make Cucumber Sandwiches From Home-Grown Cucumbers
• Norcross Garden Club Gets a New Look
• Save Water Outdoors This Spring

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