Chugach Optional Garden Club

The Chugach Optional Elementary Garden Club is an after-school program in grades 3 -6.  The purpose of the garden club is to provide students with the opportunity to participate in as many aspects of gardening as possible.  It's goal is to offer students hands-on experiences that extend from the classroom curriculum and foster an appreciation for the natural world by encouraging awareness of the connections between plants, animals, food, nutrition, health and the environment.

Our garden club is guided by the principles of student-driven, experiential learning, whish is fundamental to the school philosophy.  Students are encourages to be "iin charge" then guided and supported in working together to implement their ideas.  Parents of participating students are expected to be actively involved in supporting some aspect of garden club activity. 

With the generous support of parent volunteers, in the past  four years, the garden club has:

• planned and constructed three raised garden beds
• planted, cultivated and harvested vegetables from these garden beds
• planned and prepared a complete meal for the garden club students, parents and guests using the fall garden harvest
• prepared and shared carrot muffins, and apple butter with the entire school for special fall "garden" snacks
• incorporated chickens (6 laying hens) into our schoo commuinity and instituted an "egg sharing" program
• introduced composting to our school 
• received two grants to be used this spring to construct a greenhouse on the school site