Tibbott Fifth-Graders Help School Get Head Start on New Edible Garden

Tibbott Elementary School will be ready to hit the ground running when it comes time to plant the new edible school garden that was built last fall.

Students in David Mertes’ fifth grade class have been busy helping every classroom in the school plant seedlings in milk cartons recycled from the Tibbott cafeteria using compost created through a “vermiposting” project.

“Eventually,” said Tibbott Principal Ana Wilson, “our hope is to have a compost bin outside near the garden.”

But for now, a 6-foot-by-3-foot rubber bin sitting in Mr. Mertes’ room filled with thousands of worms will have to do.

Mr. Mertes’ Student Ambassadors, as they are called, are not only showing fellow students how to use the compost to grow such things as radishes, lettuce, basil, carrots and a whole lot more, but they are also demonstrating how to make simple “greenhouses” using recycled egg cartons to encourage good growth in the seedlings. They plan on visiting each classroom on a regular basis to water the young plants and to make entries into the journals they’re keeping.

Editor's note: This article was submitted by Valley View School District 365U.