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A science class is seeking gardening equipment to begin planting vegetables at the school, a long-term project with which a school club is helping.
Biology teacher David Strother is collaborating with Advanced Placement Environmental Sceience teacher and Gardening Club sponsor Kathy Melvin in a gardening project. The class posted a request in the bulletin for gardening supplies. According to Strother, they have yet to receive any, but are hopeful that some donations will come.
According to Melvin, the project is run on a phase-in plan that will span over three years. The class and the club’s goal is to plant fruits and vegetables in the area of soil between the school’s track and tennis courts. “We are currently in the process of building up the soil, which is the basis of healthy gardens,” club member sophomore Arty Zhang said. According to Zhang, the project began in the spring semester of the last school year.
The project is progressing well, despite inactivity during summer vacation. “We will start seeding by this winter, and definitely by next spring in time for spring harvest,” Strother said.
Strother’s biology students are being graded for participating in the project. “Some of my students are really into it; others, not so much,” he said. “But they’re turning around.” Strother hopes the hands-on education will lead to fun learning.
According to Strother, the students will be experimenting to see how certain environmental factors, such as temperature and climate, affect the growth of different plants.
The students hope that the project will be a worthwhile investment economically and educationally. “There will be an opportunity at some point for other students to purchase the produce,” Strother said. “We plan to grow things that we can potentially market, such as berries, so we can make them into jam.”
However, the gardeners place curriculum before profit. “We are not aiming for big profits,” Melvin said. “All the money funnels right back to the garden.”
At the same time, the garden is receiving aid from volunteers. According to Melvin, Sunset Scavengers, also known as Recology, a waste disposal company, donated over 40 cubic yards of compost to the project, which came from bins filled by the city-wide compost program.
Students have also tried to get aid from small local businesses in the form of monetary and material donations such as organic seeds and fertilizers. A few organizations and companies have consented. Renee’s Garden, a Bay Area flower shop, and Seed Savers Exchange, a national gardening organization, have both donated many packets of seeds to the project. The students are still planning how to maintain the garden during school breaks, but may use a local organization, according to Strother.
“Hopefully this project will get more kids interested and involved in gardening,” Strother said. According to Melvin, it is going to take several years for the garden to become what she is envisioning. “We’d like to see a really big garden, but it’s hard work,” she said.
The gardening project is still seeking donations. “Right now we only have about $1,300 and we’ll spend a good portion of it in the next three months or so to purchase direct irrigation supplies and tools,” junior and club president Courtney Lee said. “We definitely need more support in the forms of student involvement and money.” |
