Malcolm L. Bell Elementary School

Program Type: 
Academic Classrooms, Garden Classrooms
Grade Level/Age Group: 
Lower Elementary
Number of Individuals Program Serves: 
500
Year Founded: 
2013
About the Program: 

We broke ground in April, 2013 and with the help of many dedicated parents and other community members, the garden was up and running by the end of May!  We have approximately 5000 square feet of land. The garden area includes: a pizza garden which is the center of cross-curriculum learning, allowing teachers to study everything from science to math to health and language arts; two levels of amphitheatre style seating (built out of recycled granite)which ring the pizza garden and give students or guests a place to sit in the garden; four raised planters used for growing a variety of vegetables, herbs and flowers (wheelchair accessible, allowing all children to work at the planter); a workspace which is made of precast concrete pavers and includes a work table; and, the Bell patch, our fenced on ground planting area for all things wild.  We also have a shade-loving perennial and bulb bed, a composting container, a Massachusetts wildlife, butterfly and native planting bed, two fruit trees, space for a piece of donated or created artwork, a donor wall, and a blueberry hedge.  It's been an exciting year and we look forward to spending time with our students in our garden!