Students Plant School Garden in Lewisboro

Lewisboro Elementary Students rolled up their sleeves last week to plant lettuces and pea pod seeds in a brand-new school garden.

Children in every class and in every grade participated in the planting, pushing seeds into the raised beds that will grow into enough ingredients to toss a salad for 433 teachers, students and staff in June.

“The day was amazing,” said Michelle Colman, chair of the school’s sustainability committee and volunteer for the planting. “Each class learned from [teacher] Denise Lupia’s description of how the garden was built, how the raised beds work and what the plants need to grow.”

Supplies needed for planting were funded by a PTA donation, according to Colman. The district’s operations and maintenance staff built the nine raised beds which have an irrigation system on a timer to water the plants, making it a low-maintenance garden. Compostable landscape fabric placed in the beds prevent weeds from growing.

Though it has a nature trail, Lewisboro Elementary School was the last in the district to plant a garden.

“There are so many opportunities to use the garden as a teaching tool, I can't wait to see what the kids learn,” said Colman. “In just the past few months the kids in our garden club have been growing lettuce from seeds under grow lights and I’ve seen them gobble up just-pruned lettuce and devour a bowl full of baked kale chips. It's amazing to see what kids will eat when they are involved in growing and cooking the food.”

During planting day, some kids seemed to absorb the lessons right away.

“I hope I get to come out again and work in the school garden,” said Dylan Rogers, a kindergartener. 

When Lupia asked one class of fifth graders about eating food straight from a garden, one boy responded that he 'never liked spinach until he tasted it fresh picked from the garden,' said Holly Hawkes, a parent volunteer.

Hawkes said she got involved because of her love of gardening and being outdoors.

“I hope to pass this along to my two boys—I also try to shop locally at the farmers markets and organic whenever possible. The planting day was a lot of fun and I love the idea that the garden and its curriculum will be there still when my son is a fifth grader.”

The garden will be maintained by the students, teachers and parents. Over the summer, the committee hopes to assign ten families to volunteer to each take a week to check in the garden, prune and pick as necessary. Summer harvests will be donated to a soup kitchen or food bank.