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Elementary school students at North Hopkins ISD get dirty digging in the soil of the planting bed used at the new horticulture project. A total of 45 participants helped get the program started. Submitted photo
Reaping tasty results for school
BIRTHRIGHT — North Hopkins Elementary dug into fresh top soil of a new horticulture project on Friday.
Training the students to become young stewards, NHE now offers a school program called “Farm to Table.” The students will have the opportunity to grow their own herbs and vegetables served directly from the cafeteria. Heading the project, NHE Principal Kodi Wright stated, “we are beyond excited that our students are getting this educational opportunity.”
The elementary school hosted a garden prep community event on Friday, attracting over 45 participants to help get the new media into their raised garden beds. Berger Horticultural Products LTD donated the first-quality growing media to help the students get started on their educational journey. According to Wright, the staff and students wanted to plant their seeds now with rain in the future forecast — a wise decision on behalf of all farmers everywhere.
The gardens will not only provide food, but also enhance students’ standard for academic achievement, awareness of healthy food choices, moral compass for environmental stewardship ethics, community and social development, all while instilling a sense of place and purpose.
According to “Mother Earth Living,” a magazine about sustainable homes and lifestyle, “school gardens provide a space for students to reconnect to the ecology around them. Gardens teach students about agriculture, how we nourish ourselves, the importance of stewardship and an appreciation for the natural systems that support life on our planet.”
In addition, NHE GT students will also be learning how to raise chickens for the production of market fresh eggs, an opportunity sure to provide an abundance of new learning experiences.
“All elementary students will experience learning through the coop as well,” said Wright, “our elementary STUCO, Elementary BETA and GT students will each be submitting a name for the coop that will be sent out for our community to vote on.” The NHHS Agriculture Department will be repurposing an old greenhouse into a chicken coop for the project.