Sunquam+Garden+Project



Welcome to the wikispace for the Sunquam Garden. Please add information to this page, wither by editing the page you are reading now, or by using the discussion threads below. If I've left out anything that you took away from our meeting or online discussions, please add it here.

**Mid Winter Update**
EarthDay is on its way ~Buds are on the trees ~ Robins are in the grass It's time to meet again - we should tackle some small grants and come up with a solid timeline for the spring build and roll out!

Looking for something really green to so in your classroom on St. Patrick's Day? Plant peas - they love the cold early spring weather, commercial seeds are selected for mold resistance in wet soil, are easy for little hands to manipulate, beautiful to watch grow, lend themselves to found-art sculpture to support growing vines, and finally - truly tasty to pick and eat!!!

**Report on Action Items from December Meeting**
I would like to push these threads into the discussion page - but we should all be onboard with using the wikispace for communication first - before adding a degree of navigation to it! Here is what I can report so far... please add your own thoughts and comments!!!!!

THANK YOU!!! Mrs. Littell put aside money from the building budget so that we can proceed with the raised beds! Special thanks to Carol for making the lumber wishlist into a real purchase order in time and for stretching the $$ as far as they would go so we have the most lumber possible!

**Meeting Notes from Dec. 18th**
At the meeting, Ms. Littell shared two articles about what other schools have done. Garden pictures are always better in color, so here are the links. They are just right for looking at on a snowy December day.

[|Princeton School Garden Cooperative]

[|Riverside Elementary School Outdoor Classroom]

Discussion centered around where the garden should be located and how big it should be. As well as what will be grown. The garden will be all organic, and the vegetables grown in the garden will be donated to local food pantries such as Island Harvest. The Courtyard is considered the best option for placement. It is protected from the potential of dogs and people wandering by, and already houses some established flower beds. Areas extending our from the library corridor offer the most light. The vegetable garden will utilize raised beds. Ms. Tsunis is already recruiting help to build the beds, and Ms. Littel is trying to find some money to purchase the building materials. We confirmed that parent volunteers will have access to the garden throughout the summer (including the two weeks that the office is closed). Vegetables can be started from seed in classrooms. We discussed the possibility of having two rounds of seed starting - early seeds (coordinated with science units) could be started indoors and a grow light unit could be placed in the Multipurpose room (safety with hot light fixtures), and a spring round of seeds would be part of Earth Day activities. Mrs. Ferdinando suggested that we can stretch this Earth friendly activity by using cleaned out egg shells and old cardboard egg cartons for seed starting. We would like the garden to be ready for planting by mid-March; this is traditionally the start of outdoor planting season regionally ("plant your peas on St. Pat's" is an old victory garden expression). Mrs. Gottleib purchased hoses and has connections to local nurseries; she is an axcellent resource. A closed composting system could be investigated. This led to side discussions of cold frames (to extend the season and vermiculture (worm composting). More about these ideas to follow. There are already established shade beds from the Garden Club. These beds should be revitalized and expanded as our garden grows.
 * Discussion**

Ms. Tsunis will call Mrs. Gottleib to share news about our projecta nd ask for her input. Ms. Meirs will make a lumber list with Home Depot (and approved vendor) for the raised bed materials. Everyone: should take a look at the websites listed above and keep thinking about ways to integrate the garden into the life of the school.
 * Action Items**