Teamwork Helps Central Elementary School Bring Garden Back To Life
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MOUNDSVILLE – Central Elementary School's playground buzzed with excitement Friday as eager students watched their school garden make its return.
Central Elementary, Moundsville Middle, and John Marshall High School students teamed up with Grow Ohio Valley to reinstall Central Elementary's garden following a yearlong period of playground renovations.
Heather Stillion, a fifth-grade teacher at Central Elementary, says she is excited to have a functioning garden again for students.
"You’re out in the sunshine, your hands are in the dirt, it’s learning," she said. "It’s a different kind of learning that a lot of kids don’t get anywhere else."
Stillion says the garden acts as a way for students to get practical experience while also checking off educational goals.
"It’s so easy to combine math with gardening. There’s area, there’s perimeter, there are soil temperatures, science with soil pH and we’ve done all of that," she said.
Grow Ohio Valley is a local nonprofit that aims to improve the region by fostering a community that celebrates and shares locally produced food. Grow Ohio Valley first collaborated with Central Elementary just under 10 years ago as part of its initiative that aims to have gardens in every school.
Hannah Hedrick, education program manager at Grow Ohio Valley, says the organization is happy to help in any way it can.
"These guys have gone through a lot of changes, but it really means a lot that they reached out to us after all this time to be able to come in and, you know, get this thing going again," she said.
She says providing resources to teach kids basic gardening skills can help build their confidence.
"Being in the garden and being close to your food empowers kids to have the information to make their own food choices and empowers adventurous eating," she said. "Knowing about their food is really important for kids."
Monarch Carpentry, a Career Technical Education program at John Marshall High School provided the materials and constructed the garden beds.
Michael Clemons, a student in Monarch Carpentry, says helping with the project allows their program to get real experience while also benefiting the community.
"It gives us an idea of what it will be like after we’re done with high school," he said. "It’s kind of like going out on a real job site, setting everything up and getting to work."
Moundsville Middle School students arrived Friday afternoon to assist in the assembly and final touches of the new and improved garden.
The final product consists of six self-watering raised garden beds located on the playground outside Central Elementary.
Students and staff will start using the new garden bed installments this summer.
Stillion says her favorite part of being involved in the garden is getting to see her students take pride in their food production.
"There’s a product at the end of all of their hard work, and it’s a product they enjoy," she said.
She says it allows her students to build relationships with members of their local community.
"We have so many people from local businesses, people that work in the courthouse, the bank and the sheriff's department come by, and the kids are so proud," she said. "It’s important to be a good neighbor and it teaches them that."