This network is designed to provide information about: elementary schools in Tacoma, Washington that would like help from volunteers on school garden projects, as well as provide information about potential volunteers. Projects for volunteers will vary from site to site, but may include harvesting food, tending to compost, working with kids or helping to start a new garden at interested schools.
Interested volunteers are advised to click on the "School Sites" tab to read more about schools that are looking for assistance with their school gardening project. The "Logistics" tab will bring you to a page discussing some of the logistics involved in volunteering at a public school in Washington. "Get Started" to add your information to the "Volunteer Force" page, so that school faculty can contact you!
School staff members searching for volunteers are advised to click on the "Volunteer Force" tab ("Get Started" to find this page) to locate potential individuals or groups that want to volunteer.
Winter Featured School: Stanley Elementary
Teach the kids about good nutrition... provide an interesting extracurricular... add experiential components to science curriculums... these are all great intentions at the foundation of school gardens, but Stanley Elementary school has something different to offer. Laurie, a teacher who manages the garden, admits to not having much experience growing crops. She led us around the garden at Stanley pointing to the many areas that could use a little additional TLC. The intriguing aspect of Stanley's garden is that, despite the high percentage of students on free and reduced lunch or the majority of students who gladly accept donated coats and shoes to keep warm in the winter, all of the produce from Stanley's garden is donated to local food banks and meal sites. Laurie said she wants her kids to know that even though they receive, and sometimes come to expect, a lot of material assistance they still need to give back to their community. So, her kids come outside to experiment, sometimes making mistakes in the garden, and she teaches them the joy of working for the benefit of someone else.
Laurie would love some help in the garden, especially in the summer: volunteers could come to clean up the beds, turn the compost, teach the kids about an aspect of gardening or cooking or get plants started in the greenhouse. Don't hesitate to contact her at lroot@tacoma.k12.wa.us if you'd like to help in Stanley's garden!
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