Land to Learn had a very busy spring! We served students across the Beacon, Newburgh, and Kingston districts doing various tasks in the garden. We began by teaching the importance of garden mapping, in which students were taught about bird's eye view and its importance when creating a map. Students were able to explore their district gardens and decide on various seeds to plant. In our Spring Gardening lesson, students planted spinach, chard, beans, beets, and turnips seeds to enjoy at the end of the year Harvest party. The students loved the experience of planting, watering the garden, and watching their vegetables come to life in their own homemade salad.

As a gardener, It has been a great first time experience working in the Newburgh School District serving Temple Hill and Vails Gate Elementary. Each school has unique gardens that were essential to planting and harvesting crops. My favorite moment at Temple Hill was when the students created a “SuperHero” Insect. The students created unique insects making sure to include their “six parts”. Students sang and danced the insect song, and it was quite a sight, on how creative and enthusiastic each student was in creating their insects. At Vails Gate my favorite highlight was having the students explore the garden while completing their “ Task Box”. In this lesson students were given different tasks to complete in the garden. The students enjoyed finding different color flowers, got to taste and smell the mint, and even help with weeding. Overall the students loved their garden experience and I enjoyed teaching and learning with them as well.