Sunscreen is for old people! So said my young assistants so I slathered on as much SPF 70 as I could and still turned a little pink but it was worth it to hang out with Cherokee’s fabulous students families faculty principal and Big Event volunteers. We tidied up the flower beds mulched the trees and planted cone flowers and sunflowers to feed birds and butterflies. We had the garden tilled to make room to plant corn squash and beans (the 3 sisters) or other crops that take a lot of space and weeded the raised beds so we can plant tomatoes peppers and other warm season crops. We added strawberries to the back yard of our playhouse of gardening and shared lunch in the courtyard. And as the crew from Channel 2 asked, we contemplated why. Why do we have a school garden? Obviously a vegetable garden can feed students all summer who rely on subsidized breakfast and lunch during the school year along with backpacks of food to help them get through the weekend. Even students with plenty of access to food will benefit from the added nutritional value of fresh organic produce. We all benefit from the community aspects of a community garden especially one that will be as diverse as Cherokee’s student body where we can swap recipes and learn to grow food endemic to another culture. Study after study shows that children are calmer less angry less depressed more healthy when involved with nature. That is reason enough to have bird and butterfly friendly plantings but the science and math we can learn and the color wheel lessons from these plantings are also worth the effort. Perseverance when weather does not cooperate, how to work out a disagreement about what to plant where, enjoying each other’s cultural differences, learning to look at things from a neighbors or butterflies or birds point of view, learning the history of plants…lessons in the garden never stop! McLain High School has reopened its green house and Cherokee could be the perfect feeder school for McLain. Another garden nearby (5 blocks away also a Cherokee partner) is competing to win an orchard and hoping to partner with McLain as it gets ready to set up vegetable beds. This makes the Cherokee area an ideal partner for the horticultural program at McLain. Why have a school garden work party when the school is expected to close on all three proposed plans? Obviously the plans are not final and I must wonder if we made it clear to the board that Cherokee is a school with passionate volunteers and a very productive outdoor classroom. We won a grant from the Muhammad Ali Peace garden, our bird banquet garden has markedly increased our bird population and I hope the students will apply for an Audubon grant next fall. As I arrived at the school Friday (to speak to the students about our Saturday work party) I paused with an arriving student to contemplate teaching the mockingbird in a tree near the entrance a new song. We planted a milkweed bed last fall and this coming fall will be the students first chance to watch the Monarch lifecycle in the school yard. I hope the students will file for designation as a Monarch Waystation. The Boy Scouts from troop one planted trees to celebrate their 100th anniversary in our bird banquet area last fall and we promised to care for them in their first hot summer and I will not let them down. The garden is in motion and should not stop. Books students desks and teachers can be moved to another school, this outdoor classroom cannot be moved. We can start another garden at another school but it will take time to grow in and attract wildlife and become part of the culture of the school............ An empty building in our community will grow despair and spark vandalism. A thriving garden will grow food soul and community. I vote for community. http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=946 .......... Also, Please go to this website below daily starting April 15th 2011 to vote for our garden near Cherokee School(A Third Place Community Foundation, The Welcome Table Kitchen Garden Park 6005 North Johnstown) to win an orchard! http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/Plant/Index
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunscreen is for old people! So said my young assistants so I slathered on as much SPF 70 as I could and still turned a little pink but it was worth it to hang out with Cherokee’s fabulous students families faculty principal and Big Event volunteers. We tidied up the flower beds mulched the trees and planted cone flowers and sunflowers to feed birds and butterflies. We had the garden tilled to make room to plant corn squash and beans (the 3 sisters) or other crops that take a lot of space and weeded the raised beds so we can plant tomatoes peppers and other warm season crops. We added strawberries to the back yard of our playhouse of gardening and shared lunch in the courtyard. And as the crew from Channel 2 asked, we contemplated why. Why do we have a school garden? Obviously a vegetable garden can feed students all summer who rely on subsidized breakfast and lunch during the school year along with backpacks of food to help them get through the weekend. Even students with plenty of access to food will benefit from the added nutritional value of fresh organic produce. We all benefit from the community aspects of a community garden especially one that will be as diverse as Cherokee’s student body where we can swap recipes and learn to grow food endemic to another culture. Study after study shows that children are calmer less angry less depressed more healthy when involved with nature. That is reason enough to have bird and butterfly friendly plantings but the science and math we can learn and the color wheel lessons from these plantings are also worth the effort. Perseverance when weather does not cooperate, how to work out a disagreement about what to plant where, enjoying each other’s cultural differences, learning to look at things from a neighbors or butterflies or birds point of view, learning the history of plants…lessons in the garden never stop! McLain High School has reopened its green house and Cherokee could be the perfect feeder school for McLain. Another garden nearby (5 blocks away also a Cherokee partner) is competing to win an orchard and hoping to partner with McLain as it gets ready to set up vegetable beds. This makes the Cherokee area an ideal partner for the horticultural program at McLain. Why have a school garden work party when the school is expected to close on all three proposed plans? Obviously the plans are not final and I must wonder if we made it clear to the board that Cherokee is a school with passionate volunteers and a very productive outdoor classroom. We won a grant from the Muhammad Ali Peace garden, our bird banquet garden has markedly increased our bird population and I hope the students will apply for an Audubon grant next fall. As I arrived at the school Friday (to speak to the students about our Saturday work party) I paused with an arriving student to contemplate teaching the mockingbird in a tree near the entrance a new song. We planted a milkweed bed last fall and this coming fall will be the students first chance to watch the Monarch lifecycle in the school yard. I hope the students will file for designation as a Monarch Waystation. The Boy Scouts from troop one planted trees to celebrate their 100th anniversary in our bird banquet area last fall and we promised to care for them in their first hot summer and I will not let them down. The garden is in motion and should not stop. Books students desks and teachers can be moved to another school, this outdoor classroom cannot be moved. We can start another garden at another school but it will take time to grow in and attract wildlife and become part of the culture of the school............ An empty building in our community will grow despair and spark vandalism. A thriving garden will grow food soul and community. I vote for community. http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=946 .......... Also, Please go to this website below daily starting April 15th 2011 to vote for our garden near Cherokee School(A Third Place Community Foundation, The Welcome Table Kitchen Garden Park 6005 North Johnstown) to win an orchard! http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/Plant/Index
Sunday, April 3, 2011
yes we will garden!
Some of you may be wondering if we will still be working in the Cherokee garden this weekend considering that Cherokee is listed as closing on all 3 initial plans put out by the Operation Schoolhouse task force. The short answer is YES! I expect our big day to work on Cherokee will be Saturday,April 9th 2011. We will also be picking up trash around town and weeding the bed at the Welcome To Turley sign during the weekend of April 8th 9th and 10th. The long answer is I will be meeting with Cherokee teachers Monday to discuss the garden/outdoor classroom and with students Friday to discuss the outdoor classroom as agreed upon before the plans were revealed. Because our outdoor classroom (every inch of the school grounds!) is relatively new the school board has not had time to realize what an asset it is and it is up to us to make this clear. Teachers students and books can be moved from building to building but the garden is impossible to truly move and slow to recreate at a new site. This garden approach to the school landscape also makes Cherokee an ideal feeder school for McLain High School where the horticulture program and greenhouse have been revived. This was the first winter for our bird banquet and even though only one mockingbird eyed me warily from the roof the day we hung the bird feeder several birds of several species can be found eagerly looking on when you stop by now to fill the feeders. Last summer we fed the community with radishes tomatoes and other crops the students started in the vegetable garden and this summer will be the first season to watch the life cycle of the Monarch and other butterflies in the milkweed and nectar gardens we planted last fall. The trees the boy scouts from troop one planted last fall seem to have made it through the winter and are ready to provide nesting sites and food for wildlife. The foundation plantings will be lovely and I am ready to add groundcover plants to make care of the foundation plantings easier. I have showy evening primrose plants and blue fescue seeds and would welcome donations of sedum or native groundcovers to plant this weekend at the base of the shrubs in front of the school. We also have a mountain of mulch to move, weeding and planting and tidying up in all areas and I had hoped to extend the prairie this year and add hummingbird friendly plants to the south fence. The surviving boxwood in the courtyard needs to be shaped, I picture it carved into a bookworm. We also have Star of Texas Hibiscus seeds to share. So yes we will have our annual spring garden work festival and continue to celebrate the Cherokee Elementary School Outdoor Classroom. If we can effectively articulate what an asset this school is to the Tulsa Public School system, I will see you at our fall garden party as well! http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kwgs/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1782856/Local..and..Regional/Project.School.House.The.Turley.Impact
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