School Programs

Many schools in the area are are working diligently to make practiced and knowledgeable gardeners out of as many children as possible and to connect children with the earth.  What a great way to ensure our future.  Below is a listing of the school garden programs of which we are aware. 

These programs are invaluable to our community but struggle for funding and materials.  People wanting to donate money or time to one of these school garden projects can use the contacts listed.

ACADEMY FOR TECHNOLOGY AND THE CLASSICS

This school is in the process of building outdoor garden beds, greenhousing, and learning sustainability principles and techniques. For Earth Day week, they terraced growing beds on a hillside, planted two apricot trees, and organically conditioned the soil. 

Garden Contact:  Shelly Schweizer - [email protected]

ACEQUIA MADRE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLAcequia Madre 1

700 Acequia Madre, Santa Fe, NM 87505

This school has a year round school garden program. The garden has been created as a sanctuary for chilfren where they can connect with nature, be emotionally nurtured, create with others adn do meaningful work.  It is a vibrant community gathering and growing place.  Activities will be happening this summer for children, families, neighbors and friends.

Garden Contact:  Sue McDonald - (505) 820-3535 - [email protected]

ALVORD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - an environmental education magnet school

551 Alarid St.  (corner of Paseo de Peralta and Alarid in the Railyard)

This school has a bird observation area with a solar fountain bird bath, raised beds, herbs, xeric plantings and an in-progress automated greenhouse and community vegetable garden.

Garden Contacts: Julie Dean - 986-8847 - 690-1543 - [email protected] and Betty Kuhn 983-7709, [email protected]

LARRAGOITE ELEMENTARY

The gardening project at Larragoite Elementary School includes six classes, kindergarten through third grade. Students from each of the classes have a 40-minute gardening period every Wednesday, working with gardening volunteer Mary McCormick.

Ellen Perez, principal at Larragoite, was able to buy and have installed six hoop houses in the spring of 2009. Students seeded and planted in the spring. Garden projects were tended by summer school students. After the last harvest in late fall, students replanted the hoop houses with lettuce and spinach starts.    

Since then, they have practiced seeding (using sand instead of real seed), started pinto beans in paper towels and sandwich bags, figured out how many cabbages we could grow in a 4 x 8 hoop house. They cleaned and counted pots for winter storage, weeded and prepped the courtyard garden area, made sun maps, measured our heights and then our shadows. They also studied plant parts and learned what parts of what vegetables they eat, planted tulips in pots for classroom window sills, made a list of what gardeners can observe about the condition of their plants.

Garden Contact:  Mary McCormick - 920-1531- [email protected]

SANDIA PREP

The 6th graders plant the The Anasazi Garden, they work on it over the summer and harvest it as 7th graders in the fall.  They put on a wonderful harvest festival in October.

Garden Contacts: Karen Lyall - [email protected] - 505-338-3018 and Helen Haskell - [email protected]

 

SALAZAR ELEMENTARY

Salazar Green’s garden is the first garden officially installed by the Santa Fe Public School District and hopes to be exemplary for future school gardens and those with already existing programs.  The garden supplies food to students through a variety of ways including Cooking with Kids, lunch programs, and in-garden tasting and to the surrounding community through the annual fall Harvest Fest.  The Garden and its facilities act as a classroom for all students at Salazar.  At present, all K-6 classes spend an hour a week with the Sustainability and Garden Coordinator delving into the world of food and sustainability practices in an experiential and fun manner.  The objectives of these endeavors is to promote a local, just and sustainable food system and human system for all in the region.

Garden Contacts:  Liana Sonne, 575-779-6693  Please visit our blog:http://salazarverdegarden.wordpress.com/