Approval!!!

We now have verbal approval from the powers that be in the district to move ahead with creating the garden! (Signatures are forthcoming.)

Thursday, April 28th will be our first garden Work Day from 9:00-12:00. I cannot type any further before I give recognition to Kohl's Department Store who has so very generously donated $6000 to our school so that we can start our garden! They are also sending around 20 of their employees to volunteer on the Work Day to help build garden beds, create paths, shovel, rake etc...

While the proposal took some time, researching, planning and several meetings to push through, the real work and fun begins now!

Here are the basic specs of the garden for now. 

The district will be fully in charge of building the fence (25' x 50') with a mow strip under it. They will also give us access to the sprinkler system so that we can hook up hoses for water.

There will be a handicap accessible pathway through the garden and a garden bed that is up on legs so that students in wheel chairs can pull up to it and fully join in on the fun! There will be three raised beds to begin with. Second grade and third grade teachers already have plans to use these this spring. There will also be a "vine tunnel" which was a very popular idea with the Third Graders!

The following list are the materials that we need for the work day. We are looking for donations and items (mostly tools for the work day) which we could borrow.

• shovels
• spades
• rakes
• rototillers
• buckets
• wheelbarrows
• battery powered drills
• trailers
• hammers
• mallets
• saw
• refreshments for those who volunteer
• organic compost
• pea gravel
• breeze
• landscape fabric
• 6" x 6" lumber (untreated)
• rebar
• roll top metal edging
• pins for edging
• twine
• trellises

If you have donations please contact Shari Schwarz at Rice Elementary.