April 2010
Dear Canton Central School Community,
We invite you to get
involved in the second year of the Canton Central School Garden Project!
As you may know, last year Canton Central School began a garden project. We had many successes, including participation of an enthusiastic group of volunteers and a bumper potato crop that fed our students well. We also ran into challenges along the way.
Based on volunteer
feedback, the receipt of three grant awards, and the commitment of the school
and wider community, the garden project will change and grow this year! Planned changes include:
ü Raised Beds: Easy to maintain raised beds will be constructed closer to the school building for use by school classes and family & community volunteers.
ü Fencing: A fence will surround the new raised beds to clearly mark the garden area and keep out hungry critters.
ü Class Participation: The location of these new beds and the dedication of various faculty members will allow interested teachers and their classes to be more involved in the project, from beginning to end.
ü Garden Work Days: In addition to the volunteer session at the start of the season, group work days will be organized throughout the season to learn and share the joys - & the work – of gardening together.
In addition to these
changes, the successes of our project will continue:
ü Large Garden Plot: The high school agriculture program will again plant and maintain the large garden area between the BOCES building and Pee Wee fields with a few crop staples.
ü Cafeteria Component: The cafeteria manager and staff are committed to utilizing produce from both garden areas in school meals.
ü Volunteer Garden Adopters: The system of 1-2 families, businesses, sports teams and other organizations “adopting” the garden for a week will remain in place – except this season, volunteers will be asked only to work in the raised bed garden.
Please see the reverse side of this letter to learn more about how you, your family, organization or business can get involved in the Canton Central School Garden Project. Thank you in advance for your support!
Sincerely,
The Canton Central School Garden Team
Carol Wright, High School Agriculture Teacher; Blue Jay Fenlong, Cafeteria Manager; Cathy Carr, Elementary Teacher; & Sarah Bentley-Garfinkel, Parent
See below for ways to support and get
involved in the Canton Central School Garden Project!
Please
mark the circle(s) to indicate how you, your family, organization or business
will support this project. Remember to
include your contact information!
Return this form by May 14th to your child’s teacher or the school office in person or by mail (Canton Central School, 99 State St., Canton, NY, 13617), or email the information to Carol Wright (cwright@ccsdk12.org).
o
Garden
Adopter: Volunteer adopters include
individuals, families, businesses, sports teams, service groups and other
organizations who will work in the raised bed garden for one week while school
is not in session. Further details and
scheduling will be sent later in May.
o
Harvest
Prep: Assist with washing, chopping,
freezing or otherwise processing and preparing garden produce for use in the
cafeteria and/or classrooms.
o
Donator: We are looking for donations of the
following items:
o
Crushed
Stone: To lie in the pathways.
o
Seed: Especially potato and corn seed for the
large garden plot.
o
Tools: Child and adult sized garden tools, such
as shovels, rakes & hand trowels.
o
Supporter: We gratefully accept contributions to the
garden project, whether for the general fund or to meet specific needs (checks
can be made out to Canton Central School, Memo:
Garden):
o
Seeds and starts
o
Fencing
o
Composter
o
Other: Can you assist with publicity or grant
writing? Provide snacks or share your
gardening expertise on work days? Please
let us know!
Contact Information:
Name:
_____________________________________
Role (Parent, Teacher, Business Owner,
Etc.): ________________________________
Email:
_________________________________________ Phone:
______________________________
Address:
_____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for supporting the Canton Central
School Garden Project!
Questions? Please contact any member of the school garden team:
Carol Wright: 386-8561 x 367, cwright@ccsdk12.org
Blue Jay Fenlong: 386-8561 x 410, efenlong@ccsdk12.org
Cathy Carr: 386-8561 x 212, ccarr@ccsdk12.org
Sarah Bentley-Garfinkel: 386-2086, srec4@verizon.net