Willow Springs Elementary Plants a Vegetable Garden

March 24, 2009 - Willow Springs Elementary has a 90’ by 30’ vegetable garden that the students have named "The Grow Zone."

The first, second, and third grade students have the primary responsibility for caring for the garden. Each class plants a section of the garden and then grade levels take weekly turns caring for it.

The Garden is a Place for Learning
This outdoor classroom helps students learn life skills, as well as the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. Weekly tasks for students include weeding, bug hunting, mulching, composting, and harvesting.

The garden is a fantastic place for students to learn their science curriculum objectives. First grade students learn the needs of plants and animals (insects, worms, birds, etc) and observe various components that combine to make soil. Second grade students observe the different stages of insect life cycles, investigate the needs of insects, and use different tools to measure weather (wind vane, rain gauges, and thermometer). Third grade students investigate and build an understanding of plant growth, observe and discuss how bees pollinate, describe properties of soil, identify components of soil, and build an understanding of composting.

Kindergarten students often take walks around the garden watching the progress so that they are ready to care for the garden when they become first graders in July. Fourth grade students also help out in the garden when they can and they eat produce at the start of the school year that they helped cultivate the previous spring when they were third graders. They also connect the food in the garden with their food calorie counting curriculum objectives.

By working the garden, Willow Springs Elementary educators hope:

To promote learning through real-world applications of the science, reading, writing, math, health, social studies, art and guidance objectives from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (Learn by doing!)
To encourage children to lead a healthy lifestyle through healthy eating and physical activity as promoted in “Eat Smart, Move More: North Carolina’s Plan to Prevent Overweight, Obesity, and Related Chronic Diseases” (Eat smart, move more!)
To increase the amount of fruits and vegetables consumed daily by our students both inside and outside of school as promoted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Eat more fruits and veggies!)
To increase awareness, understanding, and appreciation of agriculture and its importance to our society. (Food does not come from a store!)
To learn how to conserve water intelligently while recognizing that water resources are a limited, precious commodity. (Be water-wise!)
To encourage home gardening through demonstrating a variety of garden types: in-ground plots, container gardens, hanging gardens, etc. (Anyone can have a garden!)
To teach food safety from seed to table. (Be smart, eat safe)

The garden has been developed thanks to a $3,700.00 Toolbox for Education grant from Lowe's Home Center's, Inc. Many parents and community businesses have donated and provided services to establish the garden.

Planting Day Scheduled
The school has set a spring planting day for April 28. Fuquay-Varina High School students who are members of the Future Farmers of America will be coming to assist students with planting.

The school has invited a number of special guests including Mayor Byrne of Fuquay-Varina; Horace Tart of the Wake County School Board; Lloyd Gardner, WCPSS Southern Area Superintendent; Donnie Harrison, Wake County Sheriff; Wake County and Fuquay Varina town commissioners; Wake County Farm Bureau members; Larry Wooten, North Carolina Farm Bureau President; Wake County Water and Soil representatives; Kevin Wooten, Farm Service Agency Director; Elizabeth Driscoll, 4-H Youth Extension Specialist from NC State University; and a representative of Lowe's.

At the planting day ceremony, the school will celebrate the students' hard work, thank community and parent donors and volunteers and offer an appreciation of agriculture and its importance to society.

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