Article Contributed on: 4/24/2009 12:51:35 PM
On Earth Day, Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary, Cemetery & Arboretum and Wheat Ridge Parks & Recreation partnered to help more than 80 second-grade and kindergarten students at Wilmore-Davis Elementary School become hands-on gardeners. As the children gloved up and grabbed their spades for planting, they seeded a community garden and much more.
Three years ago, teacher
Marybeth Krug and kindergarten teacher
Susie Willis decided to have their students take part in planting a community vegetable garden - a Happiness Garden - to actively engage their students in a fun and unique learning experience. Taking advantage of the Happiness Garden located on the north side of the school's playground, the activity quickly took root and is now a popular school tradition.
This year
Margaret Paget, open space coordinator for Wheat Ridge Parks & Recreation, is helping the students plant three types of gardens: a "Three Sisters" garden, composed of corn, beans, and squash, which is based on Native American planting traditions; a "Salsa Garden," with plantings of garlic, cilantro, onion, peppers and tomatoes, all key ingredients for making great salsas; and a "Root Garden," featuring varieties of crops including potatoes and beets, turnips radishes and carrots.
Throughout the spring and summer months the gardens are maintained by community members and garden plot sponsors. In autumn the garden when students return to school, the garden experience comes full circle as the new class of students harvest the gardens' bounty.
Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary, Cemetery & Arboretum sponsored this year's garden plots that the student's planted as part of its arboretum community education and outreach program. "Partnering with Wheat Ridge Parks and Recreation to help educate students and members of the community about horticulture is very gratifying. This is our third year celebrating Arbor Day with the City of Wheat Ridge and each year we expand our activities to involve the community. This is one of several educational endeavors we've planned for this year," said
Kevin Wolfe, general manager at Olinger Crown Hill. Dubbed "the seed man" by the young gardeners, Wolfe was on hand to help distribute seeds as the planting commenced. Staff from Olinger Crown Hill will maintain the garden this year with the assistance of Wheat Ridge Parks and Recreation staff.
The youngsters enthusiastically talked about "helping to save the earth," they planted a garden, found caterpillars, ladybugs and earthworm 'pets,' and also learned lessons they will carry for life.
"A garden teaches many valuable life lessons," said Krug. "In addition to learning about how plants grow, they gain knowledge about tradition, conservation and what it means to be part of a community," she added.
Paget agreed. "Even mathematics and reasoning come into play with a garden. When the students prepare the garden plots for planting they have to divide them into 18-inch rectangles, which requires ingenuity when you're in second grade and only have a 12-inch ruler," Paget said with a smile
When the garden is harvested another lesson will be shared- the joy of giving to help others. Food harvested will be donated to a food bank or given to families in need at Wilmore-Davis.
Olinger Crown Hill and Wheat Ridge Parks & Recreation are hosting two gardening events May 1 and 2. For more information on these and other upcoming events, visit
www.crownhillfuneral.com.