The Problem
DHS Green Earth, a student-led environmental club, was started to bring more awareness about environmental causes and the benefits of nature to our community. We would like to build a garden in our school that is open to the community so we can all experience the benefits of gardening in terms of environmental learning, a beautiful natural landscape, and fresh, local, sustainably grown produce. The main goal of our garden is to encourage students to develop a concern for environmental protection.
Our Plan
We started this garden last year with supplies generously donated to our project by local hardware stores, but we had to discontinue our project due to COVID-19. With the state reopening, we are planning to restart our project. Currently, our school has a newly established Wellness Center for students to go to relieve stress, but the area is bare and dismal so few students end up going there. Our garden would beautify the area and entice students to take advantage of this great resource. To begin the gardening process, we have given our members succulents to propagate in their home and are planning to give them seeds to germinate as well. We would like to begin garden construction over the summer to be in time for our fall growing season. Having our school grow fresh produce will allow us to participate in future school district-wide farmer’s markets, an idea that we have begun discussing with teachers and other hobby gardeners in our school. We believe this will be a great opportunity for our community to come together and share their love of gardening and cooking with fresh ingredients. We would also like to incorporate a pollinator garden to attract pollinators which will be beneficial for the nearby vegetable gardens.
