I first saw the garden at Russell Cave Elementary after a Chop Chop delivery to their Family Resource Coordinator, Shonda Johnston. I shared with her the services we offer at the Extension Office and how I could be involved with her school. She informed me that their school had a large garden full of raised beds but it had been neglected for years and was severely overgrown. She was not exaggerating! In the butterfly garden the weeds were waist high, poison ivy ran rampant in the seating area. It would clearly be a long road and a lot of work but the potential was undeniable. I consulted with the Horticulture Agent from our office, Jamie Dockery, who gave much input into the steps needed to reclaim the space. Within a week we had a cleanup crew organized and cleared the overgrowth in the beds. Our next step was to spur interest in the project. Partnering with the science teacher Danielle Smith we formed the Science Club, whose primary focus was gardening and nutrition. Using the USDA Great Garden Detectives curriculum the children in garden club continued work on the garden, started seeds indoors, and created interest amongst the other students and teachers about their progress and activities. Our plan worked! The school is now moving forward with plans of creating an interactive, hands on, instructional garden. Several teachers will be incorporating the care of the garden into their curriculums. The students and teachers will care for the garden, participate in learning activities with the space and use food grown in the garden to share with the students and their families. This provides hands on experience with eating local, healthy and sustainable along. It also provides them with the skills needed to increase self-sufficiency when it comes to their nutrition.

Before and After the 2 day clean up session