Post Tagged with: "School greenhouse"

School Garden, Greenhouse Ready for Summer, Fall Growing and Learning

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.

ACS Awarded $1,000 AtlantiCare Healthy Schools Grant

ACS was recently awarded a $1,000 grant from the AtlantiCare Healthy Schools, Healthy Children program to support educational programs focused on nutrition and physical activity. Additional funding of up to $300 was also approved for CPR training for ACS staff.

The grant check was presented to ACS faculty members at an AtlantiCare workshop on Wednesday, January 8 held at the Atlantic City campus of Stockton University. Pictured at the workshop, from left, are 5th grade teacher Bethany Kiefer, 4th grade teacher Eric Tardif, and high school science teacher Dave Genter. The workshop provided valuable school garden and greenhouse educational training and materials.

Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen said ACS will use the grant funds to purchase new equipment and supplies for the school garden and greenhouse, and new equipment for physical education classes and elementary recess activities.

“We are very grateful for the generous support from the AtlantiCare Foundation that helps us continue providing our students with an outstanding educational experience,” Oblen said. “Our students at every grade level enjoy the hands-on learning in the school garden and greenhouse and we are also excited to be purchasing new PE and recess equipment for this spring with these funds.”

Oblen said ACS will continue to offer an after-school Garden Club this spring, led by faculty members Tardif and Kiefer. ACS is also considering adding a Junior Master Gardeners program as an after-school club.



AtlantiCare Awards Grant to Benefit New ACS Greenhouse

ACS has been awarded an $800 grant from the AtlantiCare Healthy Schools, Healthy Children program to furnish and equip our new school greenhouse, which was erected in the fall of 2018. Student horticulture projects are envisioned to get underway in the greenhouse this spring, including growing seedlings of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers to plant in the school garden. The grant check was presented to ACS faculty members at an AtlantiCare workshop on Tuesday, January 8. Pictured at the workshop, from left, are high school science teacher Dave Genter, 4th grade teacher Eric Tardif, and 5th grade teacher Bethany Kiefer.

“We are very grateful for the support from AtlantiCare that will help us launch new educational programs in our greenhouse to get our students involved and excited about horticulture,” said Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen. “Teachers at every grade level are being encouraged to incorporate science projects that will bring their students into the greenhouse for inter-active, hands-on learning.” Oblen said a new horticulture elective class is being offered to high school students this spring and an after-school Garden Club, led by faculty members Tardif and Kiefer, will also be offered for K-8th grade students. Faculty member Genter said they would like to have a composter for the greenhouse and if anyone would like to donate one to please contact the school office.

The new ACS greenhouse is a 20-foot x 20-foot farmer’s hoop-house design that was erected by the scouts in Boy Scout Troop 389 and will provide ample space for multiple classes to conduct  science projects. It is also envisioned that some of the produce grown in the greenhouse and garden, such as lettuce and spinach, will be harvested and used by the school’s middle school and high school cooking classes and perhaps for a salad tasting during school lunch.