Canton Central School

99 State Street

Canton, New York 13617

April 2011

Dear Canton Central School Community,

Spring is planting time! We invite you to get involved in the third year of the school garden project.

The garden project will change and grow, based on feedback, school and community support, grant awards and more! Please join us as we continue to:

ü Encourage classes and community members to participate in all phases of gardening in the fenced in, raised bed garden site near the edge of the athletic fields;

ü Maintain a lending library of school garden curricula, to incorporate gardening into math, language arts, nutrition and more;

ü Hold garden work days to share the joys and challenges of gardening; and

ü Plant a few staple crops in the large “Land Lab” garden plot, cared for by the high school agriculture program.

Expected changes include:

ü A trial composting project in the Elementary and High School Cafeterias;

ü A third garden area – the “Lower Garden”, near the playground - specifically to produce food for use in the cafeteria; and

ü An increased need for weekly garden adopters to assist during the summer months in the raised bed and lower garden areas.

Please join us in this exciting and meaningful project! See the reverse side of this letter to learn more about how you, your family, class, team, organization or business can get involved in the Canton Central School Garden Project.

Sincerely,

The Canton Central School Garden Team

Carol Wright, High School Agriculture Teacher; Cathy Carr, Elementary Teacher; Blue Jay Fenlong, Food Service Director; & Sarah Bentley-Garfinkel, Parent

Canton Central School Garden Project

Please mark the circle(s) to indicate how you, your family, class, team, organization or business will get involved in the garden project. Return this form by May 13th to your child’s teacher, or by e- or postal mail to Carol Wright (contact information below).

Not sure if or how to help? See the bottom of this sheet for school garden team contacts for further information.

o Garden Adopter: Volunteer adopters work in the raised bed &/or lower garden (NOT in the large Land Lab plot) for one week while school is not in session. Individuals, families, teams businesses and organizations are welcome to adopt the garden(s). Further details, including 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: Do you have a load of topsoil or quality compost to donate? Spare shovels or hand hoes? Seeds of all kinds?

o Supporter: We gratefully accept contributions to the project (checks can be made out to Canton Central School; Memo: Garden; Attn: Carol Wright).

o Other: From publicity to grant writing to providing snacks on work days, we’d be glad for your participation. How about becoming a member of the school garden team? Let us know!

Contact Information:

Name: ___________________________________________________________________

Role (Parent, Teacher, Business Owner, etc.): ____________________________________

Email: _____________________________________ Phone: ________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your support of the CCS Garden Project – we’ll be in touch!

Questions? Please contact any member of the school garden team:

Carol Wright: 386-8561 x 367, cwright@ccsdk12.org

Cathy Carr: 386-8561 x 243, ccarr@ccsdk12.org

Blue Jay Fenlong: 386-8561 x 410, efenlong@ccsdk12.org

Sarah Bentley-Garfinkel: 386-2086, srec4@verizon.net