Lavender, Joe-Pye and Bumblebees

 I am the environmental science coordinator at my school and want to expand the organic garden we started last year.  Two classes participated, including my own (I am also a fourth-grade classroom teacher).  This year, I am attempting to inspire more teachers to get involved.  We have parental and community support for our endeavors and so I anticipate greater involvement from our teachers this year.  

I would like to plant native perennials and herbs to attract beneficial insects (hence the name of the program) along with vegetables we can harvest, cook (or not) and eat together as we learn aspects of ogranic gardening such as soil composition, composting and the atttraction of insects that will help with pest-control and pollination.  We are also a part of Be WaterWise DC and will have two rain barrels installed this spring. 

My students have already harvested basil and tomatoes from the garden, and we made a big batch of pesto this past fall.   We've also harvested green beans, sunflower seeds, radishes and lettuce.  We are starting seedlings this week that will be transplanted into the garden in April.  

I hope our efforts pay off in motivating children to make healthy choices when it comes to their food consumption and that it will inspire them and their families for a lifetime.