McKinley School

Friday we helped Mckinley School in the Kick off their Garden program. They did a wonderful job of planning and organizing a veggie tasting. Deb Martin is the Schools Principal , and the Unity Garden leader at the school. She, and her team have put together a program that will teach the students all about growing vegetables, and eating healthy. They managed to get every student k to 4th ( 400 + ) through what I can only call a production line for vegetable tasting. With the help of the 4th graders they set up tables of over 25 different veggies. The 4th graders handed out the raw samples, and then collected data on how the other students liked the samples. Then they went through the line themselves. Later they can use the data to help plan their garden.

Purdue extension is teaching the 4th grade students a Junior Master Gardening course. They in turn will help the younger students in the garden.

Big plans a McKinley School for a great garden

McKinley School

Early planning. Its January, and the team at McKinley School is planning for it new garden. Next week they are kicking off a vegetable tasting event in their gymnasium. All the students in the school will have a chance to sample fresh vegetables, and rate them. They will be sampling 26 different items. Everything from blueberries to zucchini . This group from the South Bend Schools, Purdue Extension, and Unity Gardens are working toward the goal of educating students, and parents the benefits of growing, and eating healthy food.

The folks at Mckinley school really are a group of over achievers. They plan on putting in a greenhouse, and growing a garden this spring. Other plans include teaching healthy eating habits, a orchard , and incorporating the edible plants throughout the school grounds. This program is an early vision of what all the schools will be doing. They are definitely champions