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Garden

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Timeline of Our Garden Journey

  • In 2014, fourth graders at PVE wanted to leave a legacy of a salad bar to help our students' health. Students wrote persuasive letters to local businesses and presented to the PTO for funds. We earned our salad bar!
  • 2015—Initial idea of creating a PVE garden took root.
  • 2015/2016 school year—Parent meeting for ideas and support, PVE Garden Committe formed, meeting with members of Sustain Dane for ideas and support, grants written for tools, OHS building class led by Chris Praul built our garden shed.
  • 2016/2017 school year—Moving forward with the garden! We hosted a parent meeting and decided the original garden plan designed with Sustain Dane in 2015/2016 to be broken into phases. 

Phase One Spring 2017

  • Students decided on the type of garden they wanted to plant in the spring with a school-wide vote. The choices were: Pizza Garden, Salsa Garden, or Salad Garden. The fourth Grade SLT members organized the voting and counted all votes.
  • Third-grade students wrote persuasive letters to local restaurants and farms in efforts to raise money for garden beds.
  • Gardenpalooza 2017 took place on Tuesday, May 30 - Friday, June 2. During these four days, parent volunteers and students prepped the garden area, built five garden beds and three planting mounds. They also filled the garden bed with compost and planted their seedlings. Students and staff worked to spread mulch and create a rock path leading to the garden. 

In the PVE garden...

We grow food.
We promote good nutrition by planting, tending, harvesting and eating organic fruit, vegetables and herbs.

We grow citizens.
We connect children to the natural world and create environmental stewards.

We grow character.
We learn leadership, responsibility, and respect when we work in the garden.

We grow practical gardening skills.
We learn the nuts and bolts of growing a garden.

We grow beauty.
We enjoy our peaceful, beautiful garden as it relaxes our bodies, inspires our minds and ignites our creativity and imagination.

We grow academics.
We study science, math and language arts in our garden classroom.

We grow stories.
We develop a “sense of place” as we build a garden that reflects who we are as individuals, as a school and as residents of Oregon.

We grow community.
We create positive relationships among students, staff, parents, and neighbors when we work together.

Garden Volunteer Opportunities

We are excited to offer many garden volunteer opportunities to our Prairie View community. If you are interested in contributing your time in any of these roles, please contact Dawn Goltz at dmg@oregonsd.net.

Volunteer Coordinators

Job Description: One or two people to contact volunteers about upcoming garden volunteer responsibilities (these will be outlined by the PVE Garden Committee)

General Volunteers

Job Description: Volunteers that are able to help in different ways for a variety of garden projects. Can we call to see if you’re available when we need a helping hand?

Communication Coordinator

Job Description: One to four people willing to handle: newspaper/social media communications, newsletter communications, other OSD building communications, seed communications.

Growing Season Care Members

Job Description: Volunteers to help water and care for the garden over the summer months to supplement the Garden Summer School Class.

Artistic Designers

Job Description: Volunteers to help make the garden space beautiful. Our wish list: decorative posts, garden sign, produce signs, shed mural, decorative seating stumps, a weather station, “peace poles”, trellis, teepee.

Gardenpalooza

Job Description: Ten-fifteen volunteers who are able to assist the week of Gardenpalooza 2018 or part of the week of Gardenpalooza 2018 (one week in April or May). Jobs include mulching, helping plant, building beds, and digging.

Grant Writing/Fundraising Lead

Job Description: Two people who are willing to seek out and apply for grants, as well as fundraising opportunities to raise money for our garden.

Garden Tinkerers

Job Description: Two people who are able to keep the garden shed tidy, occasionally weed if it has fallen behind, and generally maintain a clean and orderly PVE garden area.

Grade Level Parent/School Liason

Job Description: One non-staff garden committee contact person per grade level to communicate with lead staff garden committee members as needed.