The ACS school garden and greenhouse are ready for new opportunities for children to develop their green thumbs this summer and fall thanks to grant funding from the AtlantiCare Healthy Schools, Healthy Children program and revitalization efforts by our Garden Club advisors, school groundskeeper, and the ACS Boy Scout Troop Scoutmaster.
Activity for ACS students in the school garden and greenhouse usually goes into high gear in the spring, but due to the coronavirus outbreak, the school campus was closed from mid-March to the end of the school year. The roofing of the greenhouse was damaged by inclement weather and the raised garden beds were in need of weeding and new planting.
New, heavy-duty plastic sheeting for the greenhouse roof was purchased with the AtlantiCare grant funds and installed by Scoutmaster Mike Jorgenson. Jorgenson had led a team of scouts that built the greenhouse, which first opened in October 2018. Repairs and clean-up of the raised garden beds were carried out in June by Garden Club Advisors Bethany Kiefer and Eric Tardif and groundskeeper Brandon Stevens. Using grant funds, Kiefer and Tardif also purchased and planted a variety of vegetables and a few flowers in the garden, which they will maintain during the summer months.
Tardif, who is an ACS 4th grade teacher and the Cougar Camp Director, said campers will have the opportunity to water, weed, and learn about how to grow plants organically in pesticide-free soil as part of their camp experience. Some of the vegetables growing in the garden include tomatoes, squash, beans, eggplant, peppers, and watermelon. Tardif said produce harvested from the garden will be used in camp cooking classes and donated to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Southern Branch.
Kiefer, who is an ACS 5th grade teacher, said activity in the greenhouse will get underway in the fall, and maintaining and harvesting produce from the garden beds will also continue. Both teachers said they are looking forward to seeing students back in the garden again when the after-school Garden Club gets underway.