Sunday, May 31, 2015

Farm to Table Initiative in the Middle School




The Middle School Green Ambassadors along with the help of Cory Eklund and Maura Sourman, Middle School science teachers have begun a garden to table initiative in the Academic Courtyard. "They do it for the joy of organic gardening and providing healthy food for others", reports Sourman.  The seedlings were provided by Len Dwinell, husband of Middle School language teacher, Barbara Dwinell.  "We received a lot of help to make this work," she continues siting that the grounds and maintenance crews made sure we had compost in the raised beds. The greens (boc choy, lettuce, kale, mustard)were donated to the dining hall.  They are now planting tomatoes, peppers, onions and herbs for salsa.






Sunday, May 24, 2015

Lower School Students Explore Nature Using Art and Science


In science class, Pre-K students planted radish seeds during early spring in the Lower School Organic Garden. About a month later, they were ready for harvest and taste testing! Next, in art class, Pre-K students took their tiny radishes and painted them BIG on their paper paying close attention to color and shape.











Sunday, May 17, 2015

Citizen Scientists: AP Bio Students Plant Pollinators in the Academic Courtyard




On their last day of class, AP Biology students planted cover crop and giant sunflowers in the the raised beds in the Academic Courtyard . Having started the sunflower seeds in the classroom about 14 days before transferring the seedlings outside. The sunflowers are the Lemon Queen variety, Helianthus annus , an annual that will grow to be 5 to 7 feet tall and attracts bees butterflies and other pollinators who will gather both nectar (carbohydrates) and pollen (protein) from the yellow flowers. The hope is to then have GA students become citizen scientists by participating in The Great Sunflower Project, which involves making pollinator counts and reporting them to become part of a large data base, which  includes both US and Canadian pollinator counts.  The students also planted a ‘cover crop’ of peas, Pisum sativum and Oats, Avena sativ,a which will help condition the soil and attract bees and other beneficial insects.