“My child eats cucumbers because they ate them with you!”- ECS elementary school parent
“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten!”- ECS 4th grader
Growing and eating food can evoke reactions such as this, particularly at an elementary school. The Walking Mountains Sowing Seeds Program, a close collaboration with Eagle Valley Elementary School (EVES) and Brush Creek Elementary School (BCES) is an in-school “special” at both schools. All Kindergarten-5th grade students participate in Sowing Seeds lessons throughout the year. Sowing Seeds lessons connect Next Generation Science Standards and Colorado State Science Standards to the natural environment in a hands-on way. It utilizes indoor gardening techniques in an outdoor classroom setting - the school garden at EVES and the school greenhouse at BCES.
Why should you spend at least a little bit of time in a garden this summer? There are so many benefits to gardening– so here are just a few!
- Gardens provide hands-on science just out your door, for kids and adults alike!
- Gardening has been proven to improve physical and mental wellness. Not just from eating garden produce, but the act of being out in the garden is beneficial.
- Gardens help our natural environment, no matter the size. They provide habitat for beneficial pollinators, help filter water, and lower the environmental impact of getting food on your plate.
- Food tastes so much better straight from the garden!
Just as the days warm up here in the Eagle River Valley and the plants start to grow, students are let out of school for the summer. They return to school in the fall to an overflowing garden full of food. Gardens don’t magically grow–we teach even our youngest learners that plants need sun, soil, water, air, and space. We know that this takes a lot of human power and resources. The crunch into a carrot, or the juice of a tomato running down the face of our students is worth it!
This year, we’d love your help to make our garden grow. Erin, the Sowing Seeds Program Manager will be hosting Open Greenhouse Hours three times throughout the summer at Brush Creek Elementary School. Come by to check out the garden, pull some weeds, and take home produce. Stay for 20 minutes, or an hour! All ages welcome, no registration required.
You can also help support the program, and get your garden growing through our annual plant sale! This Brush Creek Elementary School PTA fundraiser directly supports greenhouse programming. All plants have a suggested price, but any and all donations are greatly appreciated. Students have been working hard this spring to plant seeds and care for growing plants, and the plants will be ready for new homes just as it gets to be warm enough to plant them outdoors! There will be a variety of plants, primarily produce, and some flowers. Bring the joy of growing food to your own home, whether it be a balcony, small planter, or a large garden space.
If you want to go:
May 19th Plant Sale (donation based fundraiser) 3pm-6pm
June 14th 5-8pm Open Greenhouse Hours 5pm-8pm
July 19th 5-8pm Open Greenhouse Hours 5pm-8pm
August 16th 5-8pm Open Greenhouse Hours 5pm-8pm
The Plant Sale and Open Greenhouse Hours are both at Brush Creek Elementary School 333 Eagle Ranch Road, Eagle Colorado. The Greenhouse is behind the building.
Written by Erin Baumann, the Sowing Seeds Program Manager. She loves nothing more than watching a kid pull a carrot out of the ground and crunching on it. Fun fact, her favorite plant to grow is tomatoes, but she doesn’t like to eat them!
