A school garden is born! With only a few weeks left until students once again fill the halls of the Cortez Middle School, assembly of the new school garden is underway. On Tuesday, Aug. 6, a small army of volunteers and Montezuma School to Farm Project staff hauled dirt, built raised beds, assembled drip irrigation, and lovingly planted seeds in hopes that small green seedlings might be ready for the arrival of students (soon to be gardeners) on Aug. 21.
The garden will serve both as a laboratory for teachers who want to bring classroom lessons to life and as an outdoor classroom for students to learn about water and soil conservation, healthy diets and active lifestyles. Jamie Haukeness, the principal at CMS, also sees the garden as a way to bring more fresh produce directly to the cafeteria. He even envisions an opportunity for students to earn a free lunch or salad bar by participating in the garden! As MSTFP staff, parents, and food service directors have seen time and time again, there is no better way to get students eating healthy, fresh food than to have them grow it themselves.
Sarah Syverson, the director of the Montezuma School to Farm Project, first proposed the project to Haukeness. Being a gardener himself, he immediately ran with the idea. When he approached CMS teachers and staff, Haukeness said, “They truly embraced the concept.” Amongst many teachers, discussion quickly started about how the garden could be tied into their lessons.
Haukeness is perennially working towards a healthier, active, and exciting school environment. A few years ago, the school cafeteria implemented a three-day-a-week salad bar that according to Haukeness, has been widely popular. He shared with me that he sees the garden as “doing nothing but reinforcing the schools current and long term goals and teaching students the benefits of eating healthy.” In addition to the nutritional benefits, he also sees the garden as a place for hands-on learning. He understands that all students absorb knowledge differently. For some, the experience of building soil and seeing the results in the plants they grow will teach them more than they could ever learn in a textbook. Haukeness points to the fact that, “This is the kind of lesson that students are interested in because it pertains to them, they can see the results, and they get to engage with the learning!” That is one of the things that is so exciting about experiential education.
The Cortez Middle School garden will be the third school garden installed and managed by the Montezuma School to Farm Project. Together with Mancos and Dolores, every school district in Montezuma County can now proudly promote a school garden run by an accomplished garden education program. There are not many counties in Colorado or nationwide that can tout that. Each of the gardens is run a little bit differently and adapts to the conditions and needs of the different schools, but all the gardens will have exciting features like a heritage apple orchard and an experienced garden educator. After all, the Montezuma School to Farm Project is committed to the highest quality of education for all its students.
MSTFP would like to thank Cliffrose Nursery, City Market and Mountain Stone for their donations of plants, seeds, and soil. We appreciate all the community support that has been shown so far for the new Cortez Middle School Garden. But we’re still short a lot of items like shovels, wheelbarrows, hoses, watering cans, harvest baskets and more! If you have garden gear that could be donated, please contact me at mstfpamericorps@gmail.com.
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For all the gardeners big and small out there, take a tip from Dave Banga at Banga Farms: “The cool nights are coming on and it’s high time to plant your carrots and beets. When the frost comes along, you can even keep your carrots in the ground, cover them with straw, and have carrots all winter long!” Seasonal eating can be tricky but there’s no reason to give up fresh produce if you can help it.
I wish everyone the best of luck getting their little people back to school in the next few weeks. If you see your principal or any of the other fine school administrators while you’re shuttling students to registration or picking them up from school on that first day, don’t forget to mention how glad you are that your son or daughter’s school has a garden program. Your words go a long way!
The Montezuma School to Farm Project is made possible by the Mancos Conservation District and Livewell Montezuma as well as grants from the Anschutz Family Foundation, the Ballantine Family Foundation, the Southwestern Water Conservation District, and generous private and business donations. If you’re interested in making a tax-deductible donation, please contact mstfpamericorps@gmail.com for more information.
Also, remember to check us out at facebook.com/montezumaschooltofarm.
Harrison Topp is an Americorps-VISTA worker at the Montezuma School to Farm Project.