Spring Has Sprung!

The snow has melted and the sun is shining - it's finally spring in Fayetteville and time for gardening!

It's also time for some exciting projects including a garden at Owl Creek school. The project is a partnership between the school, Boys and Girls Club, and Apple Seeds, Inc. - a local nonprofit. We'll be starting an after school club for 4th - 7th grade students the week after spring break and working with teachers to determine how to incorporate the garden into class work.

I'm so excited to be part of the project and getting my hands dirty again! There are lots of really cool components and tons of potential, but I'll share that as it progresses :)

Most recently, one of the teachers at the school had the genius idea of getting each fourth, fifth and sixth grade student into the garden to prepare the beds before planting. Only one fourth grade class came, but ALL of the fifth and sixth graders made it out thanks to two amazing teachers. Each class spent approximately 30 mins in the garden and helped mix compost and topsoil, filled the beds, turned over sod, and mulched between the beds. I helped with some of the classes in the morning on Wednesday and Friday to get the teachers going and make sure everything ran smoothly. The students were awesome! Here are a few pictures of the classes that worked so hard.......

Fifth graders with Ms. Richardson

Sixth graders with Mr. Smith

Fourth graders with Ms. Price

Another sixth grade class with Mr. Smith

Fifth graders hard at work

Eight raised beds and a greenhouse foundation

Beautifully filled beds and newly mulched pathway

These students were all amazing - they worked hard, asked lots of questions, and were so enthusiastic about the garden. Many of them also wanted to know when they could come again! This was a huge success for the first garden event of the season - oh, and did I mention we even got a picture in the local newspaper?!