Eating from the Garden Project at South Elementary helps children learn about gardening, healty diet

Fourth-grade student Carsen Silliman pick sticks and leaves out of their class's garden April 11 at South Elementary School in Jackson. Each fourth grade class at the school has two plots that they maintain with help from Cape County Master Gardeners as part of the Eating from the Garden Project. (Photo by Adam Vogler)

It's one thing to learn about growing your own vegetables and healthy eating habits from a text book.

But the Cape County Master Gardeners have taken it a giant step further at South Elementary School in Jackson by introducing the Eating from the Garden program.

Master Gardener Verla Carr started the program at South Elementary about four years ago after taking the Eating from the Garden class at the University of Missouri Extension Office.

"There are raised beds (at the school) and the kids can go out and work in them (during the school day) one time per week," Carr says. "They do things like plant and weed the garden. Plus, they measure the plots."

In conjunction with the weekly gardening session is a weekly class lesson as well.

"During class time, we'll talk about healthy eating habits and send gardening information home with the students to encourage their parents to grow gardens at home," Carr says. "We'll also do things during the class time like make and taste healthy (snacks) like smoothies."

The gardening class, which is now offered to all fourth graders at South Elementary, will usually do two plantings and two harvests each school year.

"We usually start planting the first part of March so that harvesting can be done before school gets out (in May)," Carr says. "Then, we try to plant again at the end of the school year so that harvest will be ready when school starts back (in August). We plant 'cool crops' like carrots and lettuce in the spring and 'warm crops' like sweet potatoes in summer."

Carr introduced the Eating from the Garden course to South Elementary as part of her yearly community service work to maintain her Master Gardener status.

"To be a Cape County Master Gardener, you have to take (specific training), pay a (yearly) fee, and complete 30 hours of community service (in the field of gardening) the first year, and complete 20 hours of service every year after that," says Carr.

While Carr has since handed off teaching the Eating from the Garden class to other Master Gardeners in recent years due to work conflicts, she is amazed at the program's growth.

"We started with only one bed, and the school now has five beds (that the students maintain)," says Carr.

Kari Kitchen, a fourth-grade teacher at South Elementary, says hers was the first fourth-grade class to participate in the Eating from the Garden project.

"It was such a success that we eventually incorporated the three other fourth-grade classes (into the gardening class), so now all fourth graders (at South Elementary) participate," says Kitchen.

She believes that her students definitely benefit from participating in the program.

"They have learned so much!" Kitchen says. "They've learned about different types of vegetables that they've maybe never even heard of, let alone seen or tasted."

The class teaches gardening skills to many kids who have never grown a garden before.

"It's very hands on," Kitchen says. "Many of the students have never planted anything before. They really take ownership (of what they've planted) and they keep an eye on it as it grows. They are so proud when they are able to harvest foods like radishes and different types of lettuce. They love tasting what they've grown, and if there's extra, they love to take it home and show their parents what they've grown!"

Like Carr, Kitchen wants the gardening message to reach home for students.

"We love for them to take the vegetables home and share them with their family, so hopefully, it will inspire them to start their own gardens," she says.

Paige Wills is a fourth-grader at South Elementary who has been participating in the Eating from the Garden program this year.

"I like it when we plant potatoes," she says. "Everybody gets to participate and it's fun to take the vegetables home that we've grown."