10 April 2009
Students Sell Organic Seedlings to Aid Community Center
Raising awareness of environmental issues also a goal of project
Bethesda, Maryland — Students at a public middle school outside Washington are seeing the results of their efforts to grow seedlings along the windowsills of their science classrooms. The potted plants are ready to be sold to local gardeners, with all proceeds donated to support summer programs in a Washington neighborhood working to overcome chronic poverty.
The members of the Bay Savers Club at Westland Middle School are always trying to find ways to raise awareness about environmental issues, so when they heard that Westland’s “Growing for Good” community service project was looking for help growing seedlings, or small pots of vegetable and flower plants, they joined forces with two science teachers at the school to lend a hand.
Lauren Rubenstein, a parent volunteer at Westland, and a gardener who helps people build healthy gardens, landscapes and communities through the Maryland Master Gardeners program, has worked over the past several years to raise money for the Perry School Community Services Center in Washington, which provides youth development programs, job training and social services.
Growing seedlings to raise money was Rubenstein’s idea. “This year, I thought it would be fun to plant and sell seedlings,” she said.
Science teachers Alison Lepard and Stephanie Lee offered to house the plants in their classroom, where students tend to the plants during class after school, and even when the school is closed for vacation.
Seeds donated by area nurseries first were sown by the students in small pots formed out of biodegradable newspaper. The seedlings then were divided and transferred to plastic pots once stems began to sprout. Now that the seedlings are fully grown, they are ready to be planted outdoors. Although about 100 pots of vegetable and flower seedlings will be sold to members of the Westland neighborhood and community, a small number of pots containing milkweed will be planted in the school’s proposed butterfly garden. The seedlings include several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, peas, cucumbers and basil.
“We had a lot of success with our tomato plants and broccoli rabe, but the dill just did not work out,” said Sam Alterman, who is 12 years old. Sam said his family buys produce from local farmer’s markets in the area.
“Grocery store produce is picked from the farm at the convenience of the shipper and so it doesn’t taste as fresh or good as locally grown food,” Sam said. And because store-bought produce needs to be washed thoroughly, it wastes energy, he added.
Sam is not alone in his efforts to support sustainable food and choose healthy eating. Celia, 13, and her classmate Sean Jost, 12, see the connection between what they eat and how they think and feel. Sean, who plays sports, says there is no better snack than segments of a fresh orange, which provide natural sugar for energy and water for hydration. Since his parents serve a late dinner, Sean has applesauce and a cookie when he gets home from school. Celia, whose family is from Denmark, cooks at home. Her favorite meal includes French-style green beans and couscous, a healthy grain dish.
Eight-grader Zoe Ibson, 14, takes cooking classes and this summer plans to attend a camp that is a working farm. Zoe, who has been volunteering at the Perry Center for several years, recently sold her homemade organic lemonade and donated the profits to the center.
Most of the Westland plants were grown from organic seeds using a special soilless seed-starting medium. Fruits and vegetables labeled “organic” are produced free of bioengineering or ionizing radiation and without the use of pesticides or fertilizers that are made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge.
LEARNING BY DOING
Around the United States, the Chez Panisse Foundation in Berkeley, California, sponsors Edible Schoolyards, organic garden and kitchen classrooms, at public schools as part of a larger movement to teach children healthy eating by getting them out of the classroom and into the garden. Fifth-grade students from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, who plant and harvest fruits and vegetables in the school’s garden, have been helping first lady Michelle Obama tend to the new White House kitchen garden. (See “Home Gardens on the Rise as White House Plants Kitchen Garden.”)
Lisa K. Alexander, director of environmental education at the Audubon Naturalist Society, is working to develop Web-based garden templates that will make it easier for schools to plan and implement successful gardens on school grounds.
CONNECTING THE DOTS
Growing seedlings to support the work of the Perry Center is teaching children how to “connect the dots,” said Perry Center board member Susan Baron.
The students are building a conscience of social justice, Baron said. “They are beginning to understand that those with more can do things for people with less and that they can do this easily.”
See also “Eat Local, Stay Healthy, Says Pioneer of 'Local Food' Movement.”
More information on the Maryland Master Gardener program is available on a University of Maryland Web site.
Additional information on the Perry School Community Services Center can be found on the center’s Web site.
