Edward Devotion School

Our garden is primarily used as a way to enrich a variety of curricula, as well as a vehicle for opening up students' awareness of local food/plant growth and cycles. We built the beds three years ago with PTO funding and Brookline Parks Department support, and this year we have a local Brookline Education Foundation grant for teacher collaboration in using the garden and creating curriculum tools. What we would like this Whole Foods Foundation grant for is reading group book sets so that teachers can better connect the garden to literacy work in the classroom, and art materials for the art teacher to create kinetic outdoor sculptures near and about the garden with children; we want to promote the garden and build awareness of the children's learning there by bringing more people to the space and helping them engage with the garden through the universal language of visual art. This will mean more appreciation for gardening and local food, as well as more support for our garden in the form of volunteerism and possibly future funding. Similarly, our garden is within the playground in an urban space, so it is seen by many other families beyond our school, and this art will broaden the community connection.