seeds

Students in four after-school programs literally grew this year-- lettuce, broccoli, radishes, strawberries, flowers, and more. From the butterfly garden at Hawthorne Elementary to the strawberry and herb beds at Freedom Alternative, students learned to grow everything from food-- which they cheerfully consumed for snacks and dinner-- to herbs, flowers, and shrubs.

This new initiative started from the ground up. Students planned, improved soil, built beds, planted seeds and plants, watered, thinned, and harvested. They beautified their campuses and learned about new foods.

Without realizing it, students learned science, math, teamwork, and long-term planning skills. The most popular aspects were compost, digging, flowers, and eating fresh veggies!

What's green and a week long? Yes, it is a New addition to Title One's middle school Career Exploration Program. For the first time, Green Week was added to our June Career Exploration Program. It was an exciting addition to the gardening program and the two week career exploration. It combined a study of the question "What does it mean to be green?" with further exploration of careers, this time in a green setting. Many exciting opportunities were scheduled: meeting with the city forester at a city park, working alongside landscape architects to design a playground, irrigating with the staff at the Rio Grande Community Farm, learning about and exploring the Bosque, learning about water conservation with the Army Corps of Engineers and CIT, as well as visiting the Open Space area and learning about outdoor ethics and firefighting.

When you order seeds from Botanical Interests – a company specializing in high-quality heirloom and organic seeds -- you can support the APS Title I Homeless Project at the same time. Just use the web address below the picture to go to the Botanical Interests website. This will automatically designate the Homeless Project for a donation based on the amount of your purchase.