Washington Elementary

Our ultimate goal is to help create an interest in gardening and to help students gain the knowledge to plant and maintain a garden on their own. Another goal is to help to create a healthy future for students and use this as a starting point for healthy lifestyle initiatives that will spread into the community. During the summer months, with student volunteers, we donate the produce to the local food pantry and homeless shelter. This is one way that we can ensure that the benefits of the garden are felt by many members of the community. If we obtain this grant we will be able to have a larger area for gardening that will allow us to plant more plants that will produce a more abundant yield so we can increase our donations in the summer. Once school is back in session, depending upon the harvest, some vegetables can be used in the cafeteria while other times the food will be sent home with students. Parents have expressed how the gardening experience at school has helped students try more vegetables at home. Another goal is to propagate our own planting slips. This can be done in the greenhouse but we still need a few items to make this a successful venture. By doing this we can substantially increase the