Although we had greens thriving well into January, this latest storm is giving the garden a much-needed rest. It's a fun time to take a walk back there and feel the quiet, look for animal tracks and leave a heart on the fence for Valentine's Day. It's also a good time to look back on how far we have come in just one year with this brand new school garden.
Feb. 2012: Here we are one year ago, a skeleton crew of teachers and parents in the garden site, crossing our fingers for a grant. The cedar tree on the right in the picture is the one that now lives in the middle of the bird and butterfly garden.
March 2012: Josh Leveque designs the garden plan.
April 2012: Groundbreaking begins: Paul Rapoza levels ground and lays bricks for the patio.
May 2012: Helping Hands Day -- the first plants go in and the bird and butterfly garden is born.
Summer 2012: Families volunteer to keep the new plants watered over the summer so that they are healthy blooming by fall. We have butterflies and caterpillars in the garden and lots of bird visitors as well.
September 2012 -- By the time the children come back to school in the fall the garden plans have become real.
October 2012: With the creation of the Gardens Alive volunteer program, most of the students were able to experience the garden, observe it, and plant fall greens and bulbs.
Some of Mr. Tyson's P.E. classes got some good exercise spreading wood chips in the garden and Kid's Club helped fill the beds with soil.
November 2012: Harvest time! Some beautiful greens came out of the garden and went home with some of the children to share with their families at Thanksgiving. The Falmouth Service Center received some of the Mullen-Hall greens as well.
December 2012: With the garden slowing down and the holidays approaching, some classes found the time to remember the birds with pine cone and bagel bird feeders.
Winter 2013: And here we are, buried in snow and dreaming of spring. Starting in March we will be planting seeds in the classroom and getting ready for another active season in the garden. Halfway through our first year, we are hopeful that the garden will become a regular part of life at school. We are grateful to everyone that has played a role thus far to make the garden happen. There's a lot more fun and learning to come!
