Wilchester Elementary School

The primary goal of The Wilchester Garden is to create opportunities that foster students’ ownership of healthy choices and lifestyles. Additionally, we recognize as an extension of our classroom, the garden offers a hands-on multi-sensory tactile experience that connects to a wider range of learning styles that enhance all curriculum. Further through the garden we plan to expand the student body's understanding of farm to table and the stages of food production, environmental stewardship as well as a more in depth understanding of nutrition.

We are seeking grant funding to continue and expand a professional educator for all our 2ed and 5th grade classes. With a full time garden program, we would be able to offer the garden educator for additional grade levels, and increase the number of hours the current grades have outside with the garden.

As a new garden, we feel it is critical to capture the joyful momentum and motivation building across the community. Students (who currently are not in our targeted grade levels) openly approach garden committee members asking when they can be in the garden. Faculty and volunteers have reached out to Committee members as well to inquire when and how they can get their students, into the garden.

We want our Garden to both touch and teach our immediate community, but have a clear understanding our bounty should be as open and accessible as possible. Wilchester has a solid history of sharing, with our "sister school" Spring Shadow Elementary a Title 1 school. As the garden program and curriculum become established we plan to share and create educational opportunities with them as well.