WOONSOCKET — For the past year, Mount Saint Charles’ Earth Crew has been very busy with the construction of the school garden which was funded by Mount’s Parent Council.
Located on the Academy’s campus, a number of students devoted their time to working on site. They’ve designed and constructed 19 raised beds, filled the beds with soil, planted seeds and “critter proofed” the garden fence. Once the fence work was completed, the students transplanted a variety of vegetables and herbs they grew in the classroom as well as planted seeds for several other vegetables and flowers.
“We had talked about putting a garden over there for quite a few years,” said Janice Ferry, a science teacher and the Earth Crew moderator. “About five years ago, I took my AP Environmental class out there. We measured it out and started designing a garden, but the logistics of it were a bit overwhelming. There are many things to consider — the labor, the equipment, the material, the time, and the money to fund it. It wasn’t until two years ago when a proposal for funding was submitted by the Office of Institutional Advancement to Mount’s Parent Council that we were actually able to start because we now had the money to do it.”
Former Mount students Spencer Darveau, Marissa Lahousse, and Sarah Gardella helped Ferry plan and design the garden. There were no outside gardeners or engineers involved.
“I wanted it to be their garden, the students’ garden, and so we used their ideas,” Ferry recalled.
Construction of the garden began in the fall of 2014, once the lumber, composted cow manure, and soil were acquired. Several students worked through December and finished filling the beds this spring. “We started growing the plants in my classroom in the spring,” Ferry said, “and we planted them in the garden in June. It has come very far.”
In the spring, Ferry applied to participate in the Catherine Desourdy School Garden Mentor Program, offered by the University of Rhode Island Master Gardener program. In addition, Master Gardener Mary McNulty has been visiting the garden to offer guidance, planting help, and gardening resources.
Throughout the summer, maintenance of the garden has been done by Ferry and student volunteers and even though the garden is an Earth Crew initiative, all Mount students are invited to participate. They’ve come to Mount three times a week to water and weed as well as collect rocks to create the borders for the flower beds that will line the inside of the garden fence. The variety of food the students have grown include: tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, lima beans, peas, watermelon and many more. The ultimate goal is to donate the harvest from the garden to local soup kitchens.
“The garden is going to give the kids a connection to the earth,” Ferry said.
Mount’s garden will also serve as an outdoor classroom and will be integrated into the junior high and high school curriculums at the teacher’s discretion. “Not only are the students learning about the work that goes into raising the food,” Ferry said, “but they are also learning about organic gardening because there are no chemical pesticides and no chemical fertilizers out there. That’s a topic for my AP class because we learn about pesticides. Most certainly, raising food that will be given to others in need hits home with the students. There are just so many ways the students will benefit.”
