Does your son know what a carrot, still warm from the Earth from where it was just pulled, tastes like? Or is a carrot to him a “baby carrot,” which has been processed to a cute, uniform shape and packaged weeks ago?
To your daughter, does a salad come from a bag and consist of iceberg lettuce, purple cabbage and those same over processed carrots? Or it is made from lettuces grown right outside her classroom?
If teachers Chris Forman and Ben Herriott have their way, students at Lincoln Trail Elementary will know the sweetness of a freshly picked carrot and the savoriness of greens in their salad. Forman and Herriott have started an Edible Schoolyard at Lincoln Trail Elementary School. They said they will have students plant, tend and harvest fruits and vegetables, and that produce will become part of the salad bar in the Lincoln Trail cafeteria. Any excess will be given away to those in need.
Before kids can sample the fruits, and vegetables, of their labor next fall, there is work to be done. This week, about 60 Lincoln Trail students, members of the Green Thumb Club, worked to plant seeds in the garden. The seeds will be tended over the summer by volunteers who will take a week and work in the garden, according to Herriott. Volunteer gardeners were recruited from a flier sent home with all Mahomet Seymour students, K-12. Green Thumb Club members were recruited by a flier sent home with current third and fourth graders.
Edible Schoolyards, according to www.edibleschoolyard.org, have been around for 20 years. A movement started by California chef and foodie, Alice Waters, Edible Schoolyards are dedicated to teaching children about producing and eating fresh foods, harvested from their own school grounds.
The idea of a local Edible Schoolyard, recalled Forman who teaches third grade, came to him while reading about the program in a cooking magazine.
“I saw an article about Edible Schoolyards in Bon Appetit and it just blossomed from there,” he said.
With the idea born, the next step was to get staff on board and funding. This was not hard to do, according to Forman.
“This is a community effort, and we could not do it without this community,” he said. “Our teachers are unique. They are still on fire for our kids and for doing cool new things,” he added.
Fifth grade teacher Herriott and Mary Weaver, then Lincoln Trail principal, came on board to take the lead. Momentum slowed down a bit as Weaver left her principal’s position to become director of instruction for the district. But the following year, the project was back. Ironically, because the project was not awarded a National grant for funding, more people came on board.
“We applied for and did not get a Seeds of Change grant,” said Herriott. The Seeds of Change grant comes from a California based seed company, Seeds of Change, which is dedicated to preserving heirloom seeds and providing organic seeds and gardening products to consumers, according to their web site. Another arm of that company is dedicated to providing education about organic gardening and support to those who practice it. The company awards grants to schools throughout the country to start Edible Schoolyards and other organic gardening projects.
People from Mahomet and all over Central Illinois unsuccessfully voted for the Lincoln Trail garden last Spring, and as a result of the voting process, according to Herriott, people became aware of the dream.
Now the dream is becoming reality thanks to the support of the Mahomet-Seymour Parent Teacher Organization and Lincoln Trail students.
“There was PTO money left over in our budget,” said Forman. PTO originally funded a fence around the school’s “serenity garden” an area outside the gym where students could sit during recess. Where a few years ago people saw dirt and patchy grass, Forman saw his edible schoolyard.
PTO funded a total of $3,000 for the project last year, said Forman. This funding purchased a shed, raised beds for planting, a composter, seeds, and a rain barrel for watering. More funding is coming from private donors and the Champaign Urbana Public Health Department’s Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) program. The project coordinators also use their resources wisely.
“The shed was built on a foundation from bricks from the old Middletown building,” said Harriett.
“The original plan was to show kids where food comes from,” said Forman, adding gardening is no longer part of many kids’ lives. “We want to get good food in to kids.”
Forman went on to say “some kids struggle with attention because of their diets.” He added childhood obesity and food allergies are both a growing problem among today’s youth. And a healthy diet can make a big difference in a child’s life.
But there was another advantage to the Edible Schoolyard.
The Edible Schoolyard will provide more than just food, said Forman. It will provide an outdoor classroom for Lincoln Trail students, something new science standards will require.
“There is lots of cross over from the new science standards to our garden,” said Forman. “Whether we are talking about engineering systems or biomes, students can observe that in the garden.” He went on to call the gardens “a living laboratory that kids can work in and get their hands dirty.”
Forman said he envisions letting students taste the same produce, grown from two different plants in two different types of soil. “Will the pepper grown in regular dirt taste any different than the pepper grown in dirt with compost (which adds nutrients to the soil)? We will find out,” he said.
For the future, Forman said he would like to see a collaboration with the High School’s agriculture department. He also would like for the Edible Schoolyard to become an official weather station.
For now, Forman said he would like a few more raised beds for planting.
“We are going to take it slow because we want it done right,” he said.
Anyone wanting to volunteer time, money or supplies, can go to www.lincolntrailgarden.weebly.com. This website, according to Herriott, contains more information and a calendar of events. Families can also sign up for a shift this summer if they want to help tend the garden. And ultimately bring more healthy food options to Lincoln Trail’s cafeteria.
