The MOF&G Online
First School Garden Workshop a Success; Second in March
Mary Bird from the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development enthusiastically welcomed almost 60 people to "Let's get Growing," the first Maine School Garden Network Workshop, held in October at the Eastern Maine Community College. Attendees represented a wide geographic range of schools and many different areas of expertise--elementary and high school administrators, teachers, school lunch personnel, community and youth health workers, and organic food producers--all interested in exchanging ideas on developing school gardens to enhance their curricula.The morning offered four workshops: Jon Thurston and Neil Lash reported on their very successful Heirloom Seed Project at Medomak Valley High School; Mary Bird did a hands-on demonstration of how to enrich curricula by creating imaginative boxes of materials; Elizabeth Patten, co-author of Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils, developed a lesson illustrating the real costs of our food system; and Heather Albert-Knopp, the community coordinator for Healthy Acadia, Dustin Eirdosh from College of the Atlantic and Steve West of Connors School shared their proposal for a school garden project and led a spirited discussion of how to get gardens included in developing school curricula.
After a delicious lunch of local foods, Laura Newman, education and outreach coordinator for Portland Trails, documented the progress of the Trails group with a well done Power Point presentation. The workshop then moved to United Technology Center, where Claire Ackroyd, environmental horticulture instructor, introduced the group to the exciting new horticulture program the Center is offering and concluded with a tour of the garden and greenhouse.
For lack of space, late comers had to be turned away-- but keep posted! Let’s Keep Growing: The Second Maine School Garden Network Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, at the MOFGA Education Center in Unity. Educators of grades K through 12 are invited to network, share resources and hear about innovative programs and events in Maine’s growing School Garden Network. For more information, please call the MOFGA office (568-4142) after January 1 or check www.mofga.org periodically.