I harvested my broccoli last week, and boy was it delicious!
Pocket: Mini Wally in Chocolate
Compost: Malibu Compost Tea
Vegetable: Broccoli (full sun, 6-8 hours/day)
Recipe: Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower with Lemon and Garlic (found here)
Photos by Shauna Nep
xox
Shauna
Woolly School Garden Coordinator
We are always excited to report when Woolly Pocket retailers lend a helping hand! As part of the Woolly Pocket Mini-Wally Sponsorship Program, ecomom has kindly donated 20% of their Mini-Wally + Book sales to Urban Compass’ Woolly School Garden. Their $480 donation brings Urban Compass’s total amount of raised funds to $880… only $120 to go!
We’d like to extend our deepest thanks to ecomom, and to all of our wonderful Woolly Pocket retailers.
Interested in sponsorship opportunities with Woolly School Gardens? Email us at schools [at] woollypocket [dot] com.
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ecomom was founded to address the connection between the health of our children and the health of our environment, ecomom is committed to making eco-conscious living easy, affordable, and rewarding. By helping women begin to take better care of themselves and their families – with education, support, tools and products – we empower them to take the all important first steps toward a healthier, more balanced, and sustainable lifestyle. ecomom is about bridging the gap between making healthy choices and making easy choices. We created ecomom because we care and are concerned for babies and their moms, our families and our communities.
Urban Compass strives to reach underserved urban youth and guide them toward a hopeful future by showing them that a world of possibility exists and inspiring them to achieve their dreams through education, mentoring and enrichment activities.
SCHOOL GARDEN HERO: school gar·den he·ro [skool] [gahr-dn] [heer-oh] (noun, plural -roes) 1. a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their determination to teach kids how to grow their own food. 2. a person who helps children discover the living world, increases access to fresh healthy food, and brings hope to communities by making school garden projects a reality.
What is your company’s main mission?
Please join us tomorrow as we host the Jaime Oliver Food Revolution Twitter Party! We are talking all about gardening with kids- tips, tricks, + school gardens! You can follow the Woolly School Garden on Twitter @woollyschools and use the hash-tag #foodrevparty to get in on the fun. Tweetchya later!
Seattle’s Graham Hill Elementary and their Woolly School Garden suffered some calamities this spring, but with true Woolly spirit, the garden is up and running again, keeping the playground adorned with flowers and colorful veggies for the summer!
The school had their vertical Woolly Garden planted and ready to go when something quite sad happened: vandals broke into the school and tore apart both the greenhouse and the garden. Cambria Cox, Graham Hills’ garden director, said “It was a huge bummer and a setback … but that didn’t stop us from persevering!”
With Woolly verve, students, teachers, parents and neighbors got to work rebuilding and replanting their garden. Cambria organized a series of work parties, where students planted chard, spinach, broccoli, lettuces and flowers on their Woolly wall, and a mural was painted across from it. The kids also each created a prayer flag, which are now strung across the outdoor space: the garden is now lightly shaded with artwork from the same students planting and learning in the garden. ”Many students had never held a seed before, never tried a radish, weren’t totally aware of where their food comes from. I was pleasantly surprised when just about every student enthusiastically tried anything that was grown in the garden–broccoli, arugula, sorrel — kids wanted to eat it! The garden is definitely inspiring wonder and curiosity,” reports Cambria.
Last week the school threw a garden party, with ice cream from a local creamery and mint lemonade from the Graham Hill’s own garden. “It was the culmination of so much work and struggle, but also resilience and hope,” said Cambria. “It was so great, the kids had a blast and it was gratifying to see things looking so beautiful. Our students have learned how to grow food from seed. How to make a salad. How to plant seeds and starts. What plants need to thrive. How to attract beneficial insects and wildlife to the garden. Resilience in the face of adversity!”
And the beauty continues … hummingbirds have discovered the Woolly garden’s nasturtiums, and are returning daily for nectar! A green little world has been created on a patch of Seattle blacktop, all thanks to the woolly efforts of one school community!
Here at Woolly Pocket, we love hearing about what all of our wonderful schools are growing in their pockets!
Margaret of PS 102 in Brooklyn was kind enough to share what’s growing in their Woolly School Garden.
Hi Margaret! Can you tell us a bit about your Woolly School Garden? What are you growing right now?
Our Woolly School Garden hangs on two opposite fences. All of our crops are doing very well – we have a lot of herbs – basil, thyme, dill, lemon verbena, mint, oregano, chives, several kinds of parsley, cilantro. We also have green zebra and cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, Lebanese squash, zucchini, broccoli, bok choy, arugula, Kentucky wonder beans, lettuce, baby greens, mizuna, eggplant and some marigolds in between. Six Woolly fives are on our hot afternoon sun side and four on the less sunny side. We’ve been getting nice veggies to harvest for our School Garden to Cafe Harvest Festival (a NYC School Food Program).
What have your students learned through the Woolly School Garden program?
So far … they have learned that veggies can be grown in the city on a fence. They have learned that veggies are delicious. They have learned how easy it is to plant and grow food in the city and what plants require to grow. They have learned to identify vegetables and their nutritional value. They have learned about herbs and how they enhance flavors of food.
What do students like most about the garden?
Being outside. Feeling they are in a special, magical place that does not look like the rest of Brooklyn. A break in the day and a chance to experience nature up close. Most LOVE watering, touching dirt and finding worms. They are always full of questions and good suggestions.
What advice do you have for other schools that want to start a Woolly School Garden?
DO IT! We love our Woolly Pocket garden – and I know very few schools have the space (or safe soil) to do in-ground gardening. It’s the easiest method we’ve tried so far – no weeds, easy watering, no bending.
Thank you so much Margaret for sharing with us! PS 102′s Woolly School Garden is looking absolutely beautiful, and sounds delicious!
What’s growin’ in your Woolly Pocket? We’d love to know! Email us at justina (at) woollypocket (.) com
A MEGA Woolly Thanks to Analiese Paik with the Fairfield Green Food Guide. Her Holiday Gift Guide presentation on WTNH featured 3 amazing gifts for a Gardener, Cook & Chocolate Lover, aka a Foodie!
Who wouldn’t want a gift of heirloom seeds from a 200 year old seed company, Comstock Heirloom Seeds. Or how about a decadent and sustainable chocolate disc from Fair Trade Chocolate makers in Mexico from Taza! But our favorite is a mini herb garden beautifully planted in a Peacock Tina that will grow all winter long on your countertop! Plus your purchase will mean a classroom of your choice will get a Wally to start their own Woolly School Garden Classroom!
Give the gift of health, knowledge & nutrition this Holiday when you donate a Woolly School Garden. Just in time for Spring planting, your Woolly School Garden will arrive at the chosen school donated on your behalf, or in the name of someone of your choice. The donor’s name will be listed on the Woolly School Garden website, on your chosen school’s unique page.
Give your niece, nephew, grandchild, son or daughter a gift that will impact the rest of their lives!
Or take ‘team-building’ to the next level by having a day outside of the office & giving back to the community by helping out your local school!
The gift of a complete Woolly School Garden & nutrition curriculum is $1000. Smaller contributions can be made in any amount & are appreciated just as much! If you’d like more info, or to customize something, contact Becky: becky@woollyschoolgarden.org
Thank you for helping our schools grow!
Woolly Yours,
Becky + Aurora
Look what the amazing kids of Tomoka Elementary School sent us! They’re so happy to have a Woolly School Garden. Does your school have one? Get it here:
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