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“We live so close but our worlds are
so different. We very rarely get to a city. It was good
for us all to see how people live and garden in a city.”
--Parent at Williamsburg School
History of Fertile Ground
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Fertile Ground broke ground in spring of 2003 as an
after-school teaching garden project of the kindergarten
at the public
elementary school in rural Williamsburg, MA. Right
away, the garden became a focal point for parents
and teachers who wanted their children to learn how
to grow and delight in nutritious food. From breaking
ground to the present, the teachers have been exploring
ways to teach the children to think in terms of connectedness
and relationships. In just five years, the garden
program has become a 24 week curriculum integrated
learning lab for the entire school, grades PreK-6,
which supplies produce to the school cafeteria, and
energizes school community with workdays, celebrations,
and workshops.
A parent recently said, "in the garden the children
learn about the world..." From the beginning,
the project was about connecting urban and rural communities
through the culture of agriculture. The raised bed
garden was constructed with the help and guidance
of youth gardeners at Nuestras
Raíces, about 20 miles away from Williamsburg.
For four years, the youth mentors have shared their
Puerto Rican culture by teaching gardening, building
garden infrastructure, a mural, and mentoring leadership
skills. The kindergarten children study Puerto Rican
culture and visit the Nuestras Raices farm and community
center.
The garden serves multiple purposes:
- a community-building tool for the Williamsburg;
- a source of experiential learning about food,
health, land, stewardship, and cooperation;
- a place for children, parents, teachers of diverse
communities to meet;
- a place where skilled youth of color are seen
as regional leaders and teachers;
- an inroad into addressing the nutritional value
of school lunch programs.
The garden learning lab has become a regional model
now fully integrated into curriculum for grades PreK-6
(see educational
programs). Fertile Ground is made up of partnerships
with schools, school districts, local business, community
groups, youth, and farmers.
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What People Are Saying
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"Fertile Ground is a great example of how connecting
kids to food and farming can enhance curriculum, engage
children, involve parents and the larger community,
and encourage healthy eating. Visit the garden, come
to the harvest feast--or sample the dishes and read
the stories in this cookbook--and you learn that all
of this can be accomplished through the beauty of
the garden, the taste of real food, and the connections
between people." --Margaret Christie, Community
Involved in Sustaining Agriculture
"Research shows that students perform better in
school when a parent is involved in his/her child's
education. Family hands-on activities that model the
value of learning, self discipline, and hard work
found in the practice of gardening are exactly the
type that promote long term educational benefits for
children." --Alfred J. Venne, Principal of Williamsburg
School
"I teach five year olds. It's very simple and
very complicated to talk to them about racism. Children
this age have a very strong sense of fairness. They
know that everyone deserves to be treated with love
and respect. Teaching about the realities of racism
in our society is something that we in schools do
not do enough of." --Sherrie Marti, Williamsburg
School Teacher
Tastes
of home: School's garden becomes centerpiece for lessons
on food by Deborah Doullette (Daily
Hampshire Gazette)
WILLIAMSBURG - Their plates heaped with spicy salsas,
homemade pizza, pumpkin muffins and pasta with pesto,
a group of boys sat down to enjoy their feast.
"We love the pesto," said Marcus, a fifth-grader
at the Anne T. Dunphy School in Williamsburg. "And
we've already had it lots of times before."
That's because the pesto's basil and garlic come
from the Williamsburg elementary school garden which
sits just to the east of the playground at the Helen
E. James School....
read
more of this article
Young
Growers Whip Up a Feast by Nancy Gonter (Springfield
Republican)
WILLIAMSBURG - Pupils of the town's elementary
schools enjoyed the fruits - and vegetables - of
their labors last night.
From preschoolers to sixth-graders, pupils at the
Helen E. James and Anne T. Dunphy Schools took the
food that they grew in the school gardens and turned
it into a feast for themselves and their families.
The fourth-graders prepared popcorn and squash
pie, kindergarten children made Brussels sprouts,
and the second-graders made garlic bread, just to
name a few....
read
more of this article
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