Kelley Des Marais (special to the Chronicle)
After months of planning by teachers, parents, school board members, Kate Sullivan Elementary School Garden Committee proudly announces the completion of phase one of the Community School Garden, completed on Aug. 19th.
The finished garden is approximately 150 square feet including a spigot and three raised garden beds. The garden eventually will include compost and vermiculture bins, bench seating and enough raised beds for each grade level to create its own garden. The garden will be fore students as well as the community and is accessible to people with disabilities. This space will serve as an outdoor classroom with curriculum-based activities that meet Florida state-wide learning benchmarks in most categories including math, sciennce, language and art. Along with the Department of Education, the garden committee developed a comprehensive guide for teachers based on Gardening for Grades, written by Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. In addition, our Nathan Ballentine with Tallahassee Food Gardens helped guide the garden committee in the creation of a living educational space. It is hoped that community-based projects like this one will provide an inspiration for other schools and show teachers how their work can provide students with hands-on learning while experiencing the fun of the outdoors. Betton Hills Neighborhood Association, Kate Sullivan PTA, Mad Dog Construction, Gramlings, Turkey Hill Farm, and Native Nurseries generously provided funding for this project.
If you are interested in becoming a part of this exciting new project, please contact the garden coordinator, Kelley Des Marais at katesullivangarden@gmail.com.