Bountiful Backyards will be facilitating hands on workshops (suggested donation $25) for the George Watts Montessori School's "Edible Schoolyard" project on Aug 1st and Aug 8th. Please Join us, see details below and contact Alice to let her know you want to volunteer on one or both days that BB is facilitating and what tools you can bring. Thanks yall!
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Dear George Watts families,
“The land is where our roots are.
The children must be taught to feel
and live in harmony with the Earth.”
-Maria Montessori
It's time to start digging the George Watts Montessori "Edible Schoolyard" garden -- this Saturday!
The goal of the Edible Schoolyard is to allow students to learn more about fresh vegetables and fruits (how they're grown, when they're grown, how yummy they are...), enjoy tastings right in the garden, do more hands-on math and science projects, get outside a little more each week, and take care of living things, as Maria Montessori herself wanted for her students.
SO MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
We have three garden work days coming up -- this Saturday (July 18), August 1 and August 8. We need at least 50 people on each of these days to knock out the work, so please be a part of this wonderful project to enhance our school and create a new, outdoor learning space for our kids.
We'll have water and snacks to keep you going!
Come to the work day THIS Saturday, JULY 18, 8 a.m.-11 a.m.
Tasks: The good news is, the nonprofit group Coalition to Unchain Dogs is removing the chain link ahead of time (and using it to build new fences for dogs). We'll remove the fence posts, dismantle the sandboxes and move the sand, and remove the old compost bins.
(Note: On this particular work day, much of the work is labor-intensive, so it's not the best one for kids to participate in. That being said, they can always play on the playground and remain visible to you.)
Tools to bring: Shovels (regular kind and long, pointy kind) and work gloves.
**EMAIL me if you have a wrench, sledgehammer, wheelbarrow, tarp or "Sawzall" you could bring.
Come to the work day on AUGUST 1, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
Tasks: We'll dig holes for the plants and mark off garden beds. But mostly we'll dig an underdrain for a rain garden at the highest end of courtyard.
Why are we putting in a rain garden? During heavy rains, the rain garden will capture water and store it, keeping our soil food web (the whole garden) moist when it needs to be. It will also filter water, as it makes its way down slope and heads toward Jordan Lake. And it will provide educational value for the students (animal, insect, plant habitat, etc.).
Clean Water for North Carolina consulted with us for this portion of the project, in addition to Bountiful Backyards (BB). BB may even be leading a workshop at our garden site on this work day, to show other folks how to install a rain garden -- a hot, timely topic these days. So it's an exciting, innovative element for our garden!
Tools to bring: Shovels, pick axes, rakes and work gloves.
**EMAIL me if you have a wheelbarrow you could bring.
Come to the work day on AUGUST 8, 8 a.m.-11 a.m.
Tasks: Continue creating planting beds. Plant and water! The perfect day for kids to participate.
Tools to bring: Shovels, spades, rakes and work gloves.
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Alice Bumgarner
Chair, PTA Edible Schoolyard Committee
Parent of Annabel Todd (Lower El) and Phoebe Todd (Primary)
t: 919.680.8674
Thu, 2009/07/16 - 18:25 | 
Rumbley 
