The First Day of Construction of The Garden Hut -- Getting It Done!

The Expert Workmanship of the BOCES1 Students

Really great skilled work and cooperation between the students in the building trades program at Erie1 BOCES -- surveying and leveling the floor, discussing the building plan and unloading the flatbed.  All Volunteering on this Saturday Morning.

Preparing for the Construction of The Garden Hut

Four Erie1 BOCES high school seniors joined their building trades instructors in The Giving Garden Saturday to prep and level the cement pad for the construction to begin on Monday, April 30th.  The students will be constructing The Garden Hut for the next two weeks every morning as part of their senior building trades' internship program.

A Little More about Why these High School Seniors are Out this Early on a Cold Sunday April Morning

We sometimes say that are young people are too linked in or always on their phones and texting.  Not these young people -- they are out on a very chilly April morning making a difference!  All of these seniors are college bound next year and have great attitudes about being outdoors doing this tedious task of helping to provide privacy for The Giving Garden's neighbors.  Soon the Garden Hut will be constructed and more youngsters will be out having lessons in the garden.  These high school seniors are truly an inspiration! Thank You!

High School Seniors Building a Privacy Fence in The Giving Garden

Young people do get up early on the weekend and get down to business.  These 5 high school seniors took time out of their weekend morning to build a privacy fence for The Giving Garden.  They each chose The Giving Garden to do their required community service hours and were in the garden on a very cold April morning to do a tedious job of sticking fence slats in the existing metal fence.  Kudos to these young men and women.  A big thank you!

Take a Look at Kindergarteners Snacking on Healthy Veggies and Then Sowing the Seeds of Goodness

The kindergarteners gobbled up baby finger-size carrots and then sowed the seeds, added worm castings (or worm poop!) as fertilizer, got their hands dirty, dug for worms and generally had a heartfelt good time learning about life in the garden!

Kindergarten Classes Munch on Baby Carrots with Ranch then Plant Baby Carrot Seeds

It is fun to first have a snack of the veggie we will be sowing ... we talked about the meaning of Earth Day and also of caring for our own bodies.  Children really get what it takes to eat healthy and know about taking care of the earth.  Just watch these videos to see.

Earth Day is Every Day! Kindergarteners Have Fun in The Giving Garden

Just ask these 5 and 6 year olds about what a seed or plant needs to sprout out from the earth and grow: Water, Sun and Soil (and air as one clever boy pointed out, and thanks to the worms digging through and mulching up the soil, there is plenty of air for the plants' roots).

The kindergarten class got their hands dirty in the soil, spread soil and worm castings, dug for worms and other creepy crawlers and even checked out a praying mantis egg in the garden -- which once hatched may stay in The Giving Garden and work to reduce pests.

We sneaked a peak under the covered beds that already have carrots, spinach, kale, dill and baby leaf lettuces growing in them, some of which was planted last fall and overwintered, and some planted this spring and kept warm and cozy by the white row cover sheet.

Sunny Monday Brings 3 Kindergarten Classes out to the Garden

Children relate to many things in the natural world and it is fun to tie their time in the garden to something that is their size.  We did this by sowing baby carrot seeds to grow carrots the size of 5 and 6 year old fingers on a lovely spring morning.  First we sprinkled in baby carrot seeds and then little fingers scratched the soil's surface to work the seeds gently in.  The kindergarteners also made rain using plastic recycled yogurt containers and dripping water softly onto the top of the beds like drops of rain.  Happy Earth Day!