Lemon Road Elementary School

This year our school grew from 300 to 500 students. This grant will make it possible for us to build 6 new raised beds for our additional classes so that we can continue to accommodate 100% of our students in the gardens. Our Discovery Gardens are in their 10th year of operation and are fully integrated into our school culture and curriculum. Specific examples of ways in which our students and community interact with the gardens are given in question #11 below.

The 5th graders are beginning a project as part of their "Fields of Science" curriculum. An area of our schoolyard was recently planted with new native trees. The 5th graders will learn hands-on about the balance of ecosystems by keeping the invasive plants and vines in the area from growing back and killing the trees.
- They will work with mentors from the Fairfax County Department of Urban Forestry and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District.
- The classes will rotate so that one class works in the garden for 30 minutes each week
- Every 5th grader will work once a month
- A total of more than 250 "student-hours" by the end of the school year!
This grant will make it possible for us to purchase enough shovels and pruners for an entire 5th grade class to work productively at once, a shed for nearby storage of the tools, landscape timbers for erosion control, and watering bags to give the trees a good healthy start.