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3rd
Place Organic Bronze Award Nestled in the hills of Brewster, N.Y.; 100 miles north of New York City, is a special school called Green Chimneys. Here 185 emotionally challenged children struggling with everything from Asperger's to schizophrenia come to learn to cope with their challenges. Integrated fully into the school's curriculum is animal and horticulture activities. Located on the 200 acre campus is a 1/4 acre slice of heaven called the Children's Garden. A fully organic garden built by the children themselves it fully supports the school's year round horticulture program. Each of the school's twenty classes have a chance to come to the garden once a week. There we use the garden to explore the world around us. During the winter a seed catalog may be created on the computers, propagation, and soils studied. During the spring seeds are planted in our greenhouse, nurtured, and grown. Soon the classes are moved from the greenhouse to our outdoor classroom garden. Here cover crops are hoed into our raised beds, compost mixed into our clay soils, and our crops lovingly transplanted in a preplanned rotation. Later in the spring the bed are mulched with straw and watered with soaker hoses. During the summer nature and activities like salsa, smoothies, and soap bubbles are part of our curriculum. Our five types of garlic are taste tested and bar graphs are made showing which garlic is hottest and which one is mildest. Social workers, Occupational Therapists and others visit the garden with their students. They sit and talk under the pergola on the porch swing or help with the harvesting and maintenance of the garden. The atmosphere is one of peace and healing. All produce is used either in class or brought to the Life Skills class where delicious food dishes are made. Food is fresh, organic, and good. Maintenance is done by the garden teacher, the garden assistant, and a cadre of Learn and Earn students. Learn and Earn Students are children who sign up for a job in the Children's Garden. Before, during and after school they work alongside the garden staff weeding, setting pheromone traps, and other garden maintenance. The rewards?? A small wage (.50 to $1.50 per hour) and a lifetime appreciation of gardening. In the fall we pull out dead crops, compost them, seed our buckwheat cover crops, and decorate for Halloween. Holding a Haunted Garden we say farewell to this year's garden and return to the greenhouse for our winter studies. Besides the main garden each dorm also has a small garden where the children take what they learn in the main garden and use it. Here they are fully in charge- they decide what to plant, where to plant it, and how to maintain it. The parents even get involved in the gardens by sending in seeds, transplants, and labels for their children to use in their gardens. It's a little bit of home for the children to nurture and grow. During the summer we choose a garden each month to get the Dorm Garden of the Month Award. Each dorm that wins this highly coveted award gets a Dorm Garden Of The Month sign placed in their garden, and a prize of garden supplies and treats for their dorm. In their own words the Children's Garden is the Children's pride and joy, their sanctuary, and refuge. In the words of one student: WE DO LOTS OF FUN THINGS. I'VE BEEN IN THIS CLASS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. NOW I COULD TELL YOU LOTS OF TRUE FACTS I KNOW ABOUT OUR CHILDREN'S ORGANIC GARDEN. IIN GREEN CHIMNEYS IN OUR ORGANIC GARDEN WE GROW BEETS, STRAWBERRIES, LEMON LEAF, ONIONS, RADISH, TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS, CARROTS, SQUASH, AND WATERMELON. AND NOW I WILL TELL YOU HOW THE GARDEN HELPS US KIDS IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
THANK-YOU FOR READING MY LETTER, HAVE A SPLENDID DAY. S. BURDEB, AGE 13 |
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