“Our new model requires less support staff and funding but will depend on greater participation from parents and the general community.”
by Julie Whitaker
Our mission and goals are the same at Granny’s School Garden: only our methods have changed. We will use the process of growing produce for the cafeteria to provide hands-on educational opportunities for first to fourth-grade students at Loveland Primary and Elementary Schools.
Students will have the opportunity to plant, weed, harvest and be involved in the general upkeep of the gardens. Instead of individual classroom garden beds containing a variety of vegetables, there will be beds of various vegetables, i.e. lettuce, carrots, squash, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, and peppers.
There will be an ongoing list of tasks, i.e. plant carrot seeds in two garden beds or weed the carrot patch. Teachers can sign the classes up for the tasks that best support their educational goals.
Simplifying the gardening aspect of the program will allow teachers to focus on the educational process rather than the mechanics of gardening and make it easier for volunteers without gardening experience to assist.
We can no longer afford the Garden Educators and other support staff that made our program so successful for fifteen years.
Our new model requires less support staff and funding but will depend on greater participation from parents and the general community. We have a core group of volunteers who make up our leadership team and are seeking others to grow and strengthen the program.
Call or text 513-324-2873 to learn more about ways you can get involved.
We will keep the lesson plans and other parts of the website as is until we have time to update it later this year. Meanwhile, if you would like to follow along as our new model evolves, sign up for the GrannyGram News! Just send your email address by text message or text: GRANNYGRAM to 22828 to get started.
Julie Whitaker is a Granny’s Garden School Leadership Team Member
Jarvis Global is an investment advisory firm in Symmes Township, Ohio which offers private portfolio management and retirement services to high net worth individuals and supports Loveland Magazine’s High School students intern program.
