As part of The School District of Palm Beach County’s Food Services Community Garden Team initiative, partners Joseph P Cory Foundation (Nada Cory) and UF/IFAS Extension (Carlita Fiesta Nunez), prepared and presented “How to Close Down your School Garden” on May 13th. It was very timely, as many gardens are doing just that to insure all the work put forth during the school year, and not in vain: those plants would not have stood a chance this summer..
In short, if you plan and plant a school garden, in conjunction with the School Gardens Guide, overseen by Wellness Coordinator, Jeannine Rizzo, you will set yourself up for success. The new PPT presentation, has brought the guide full circle, and the Joseph P Cory Foundation, with the invitation from Hammock Pointe Elementary, a “Garden of Hope” site, shows you just how it is done!
When students, “Gardens of Hope” teacher/sponsors (Holly Nilsen and Cari Gallagher/others), Principal (Stephanie Cook) and volunteers arrived, they were presented with a fully developed garden that had been planted, cultivated, harvested and gone to seed. Following PPT guidelines, the final result: A weeded, cut back, picked, tarped, mulched, secured, AND new covered pathways were created. Lumber was laid out to form the future garden boundaries of a newly fenced perimeter on order, which could not completed, due to the present lumber shortage.
It was a great day all around, with the fastening of the school’s new “Garden of Hope” signage, and enough tomatoes and peppers to make some nice cool gazpacho for lunch!
School Gardening Guide:https://www2.palmbeachschools.org/annualreport/sfs-pdf/School%20Garden%20Development%20Guide%208-14-2014.pdf