Cedar Ridge High School

This project is the final phase of an ongoing legacy project organized by the National Honors Society and Culinary Department at our school. Two years ago, these two groups envisioned the development of one of our courtyards into a collection of raised organic gardening beds that would not only beautify the courtyard, but serve as an outdoor instructional area that would support multiple departments at our school. Two-thirds of the organic beds have been completed, and are being used extensively by the Culinary Department. They are learning about locally-grown foods and sustainable gardening practices, which is a very relevant topic in their field. The students plant and harvest the foods, using them in their cooking labs. All extra produce is donated to the Round Rock Area Serving Center, which distributes the food to families in need. Many other departments have been able to use these gardens, as well, making it cross-curricular in nature. Our Life Skills students have been able to supplement their curriculum by taking on the daily maintenance of the gardens (i.e. planting,weeding, watering, cold weather protection, etc.) The Environmental Studies and Biology classes in our Science Department have also been able to utilize the organic gardens in their units on sustainable farming practices, composting, and native plants. The Geometry teachers have integrated earlier phases of this project into their measurement units, calculating the amounts of materials needed per the design of earlier organic beds. The Architecture and Design students will be working on the beautification phase of this ongoing project, by designing an arbor and an outdoor teaching area in the opposite half of the courtyard area. This phase of the project will involve the construction of two more raised organic beds. They will be constructed with limestone bricks, filled with soil, planted and mulched. The mulch will be provided by Round Rock Recycle. The areas between the beds will be covered in crushed granite to prevent erosion.