LINCOLN GARDEN WORK GROUP/COMMITTEE
UPCOMING GARDEN WORK PARTIES:
Saturday, October 17 from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm
Saturday, November 7 from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm
SCHOOL GARDEN MEDIA LINKS:
GARDEN NEWS:
It’s a busy time of year for the Lincoln garden. Read below to find out what is going on and how you can get involved. For more information contact our garden manager: Karen Ray or garden coordinators: Laura Hunter and Shanty Slater
Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who have helped the garden thrive this summer! The garden survived the July heat wave beautifully, and all crops look to be on schedule for our Harvest Festival, Friday, October 2. Clear your calendar for that morning—you don’t want to miss this unique and joyful Lincoln event!
We have a lot of work to do to prepare the garden and the crops for the Harvest Festival. The garden’s rampant summer growth means that crops need pruning and weeds need pulling. Please stop by anytime (before or after the start of the school year) to help out. Current garden jobs are posted on the table in the greenhouse. Also, please consider joining us for a garden work party on Saturday, September 12, from 9:30-1:00. We’ll have jobs for garden pros and novices, as well as snacks, drinks, garden nibbles, and good company. For those of you new to Lincoln or new to the Lincoln garden, we’ll give a tour and brief history of the garden at 10:30 that morning.
In addition to the hands-on work of garden tending, the Lincoln garden can make good use of parents’ other talents, connections, and skills. The garden strategic planning committee worked hard all spring, forming a mission statement and strategic plan to guide our garden into the future. The mission statement is quoted here.
“The mission of the Lincoln Options School Garden is to connect children, their families, and teachers to the natural world, to foster ecological literacy and environmental ethics, and to build the skills and values of stewardship, sustainability, and public service while growing organic food.“
Copies of the Garden Strategic Plan will be available at the garden bulletin board (in the main hallway of the school, across from the office). While we have a good idea of what the Lincoln community would like to see happen in the garden, it will take the work of many people to make this vision a reality. Please review the strategic plan, determine if you can help with one of the objectives, and contact the appropriate person (listed on the garden bulletin board) to get involved.
A key goal of the strategic plan is to secure funding to hire a half-time garden manager, as it is clear that we can’t optimize our use of the garden as a school resource with only volunteer oversight. This is the most challenging and pressing goal within our strategic plan. If we are able to secure funding, I would be very happy and honored to take on the job of garden manager, and to help guide the garden in the ways we’ve identified in our strategic plan. Again, it will take the work of the Lincoln community to identify and secure funding. If you have expertise in the areas of grant-writing or fundraising, please consider helping with this effort.
I will be stepping down from my role as garden coordinator in November, after the final fall garden cleanup. There will be a team of garden coordinators taking my place. They are enthusiastic, energetic, and full of great ideas! They would love to have the support of parents from every class, so please contact Laura Hunter or Shanty Slater if you are interested in being active in the garden this year.
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