Maybeury Elementary

Maybeury Elementary's Growing Minds garden aims to illuminate students' understanding about food--where it comes from, how it is grown, and how essential it is for a healthy body. The garden is Maybeury's Wellness Committee’s core effort to improve the school's food culture. Through hands-on experiences, we seek to excite students, engage teachers, and educate parents on the benefits and joys of healthy eating.
Maybeury’s PTA funded the construction of the Growing Minds garden in October 2013, along with in-kind donations from local businesses. The teachers at Maybeury are very eager to utilize the garden, but they are still in need of guidance on how best to incorporate garden activities into their curriculum. The Whole Kids Foundation grant would be used to hire a local organization—Backyard Farmer—to train teachers on how to integrate the garden into Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL). Backyard Farmer will conduct a one-day teacher workshop, facilitate garden-based lessons for Upper Elementary for an entire academic year, and supply seeds and other equipment for the garden. We feel that partnering with Backyard Farmer will enable us to reach our goals and make the best use of Maybeury’s garden.