Conant Elementary and Bloomin Kids School Garden

Conant Elementary and Bloomin’ Kids Preschool Garden Community Build
Bloomfield Township, MI , September 2011:  Conant Elementary and Bloomin’ Kids Preschool are gearing up for the exciting community build of their long-awaited school garden on Sunday, October 9th  from 10AM-6PM.  (A rain date / finish-up date of Sunday, October 16th is scheduled from 10AM – 6PM if necessary.)  Parents and kids alike will be on hand behind the building to assemble 7 cedar raised beds, fill them with soil, and build 2 bean and pea teepee forts.  Following the build, a garden irrigation system will be installed.  There will be one raised bed for each grade at Conant, one for Bloomin’ Kids, and one as a dedicated herb bed.  And families at both schools can sign up to help take care of the garden over the summer months.

The garden will be all about the kids; they will be involved in every step of the process, from deciding which veggies / herbs / fruits / flowers to grow, to planting the seeds, to harvesting.  There will be wonderful gardening lessons linked to the International Baccalaureate curriculum as well.  And the garden will give the children a valuable lesson about the origins of real and healthy food.  The kids will be employing important organic practices, such as utilizing compost, cover crops, chemical-free pest control, succession planting, and heirloom seed-saving.  These are lessons that can instill a lifetime love of food, the environment, and the cycles of nature.

Phase 1 of the school garden project began in April 2011, when all of the students at Conant and Bloomin’ Kids planted herb seeds that were placed in a special indoor lighted seed cart.  The kids watered, fertilized, measured, and transplanted their seedlings, and each child was offered an herb plant to take home at the end of the school year.  The garden build in October will follow closely on the heels and the enthusiasm of the herb project.  This fall, the kids will plant cover crops to bring nutrients to the soil, and the seed cart will again be put to use in late winter as the kids plant their selections for the upcoming outdoor spring garden planting.

A group of parents and school staff has spent the past 2 years planning the project, and many parent volunteers have donated their time to help.  The PTO and a school fundraiser have so far raised approximately 80% of the funding for the garden installation, and materials have been donated by Goldner-Walsh Nursery, DMF Bait Company c/o the Scheuring family, Bloomfield Township Public Works, English Gardens, the MSU Oakland County Extension Office, Conant’s 2nd grade Brownie Troop # 75156, Conant’s 1st grade Daisy Troop # 74702, Marmalade Hills Skincare, and the Wyman, Long, and Kupelian families.  If anyone is interested in sponsoring or helping with the project, please contact Shelly Benitah at (248)790-7271.