I always get excited when I hear kids and gardening in the same sentence. I can’t think of a better activity than gardening to teach children so much while, at the same time, developing in them such a healthy and productive lifelong interest.
So when I heard about the horticultural therapy program that Claudia Bales had developed for Jacque Doyon’s class at George E. Jack School, I knew I had to pay a visit and talk to the teachers and children themselves.
When I arrived, I received a warm and enthusiastic welcome by the children who lined up to shake my hand and introduce themselves to me. And the members of this fourth and fifth grade self-contained classroom couldn’t wait to tell me all about their new garden.
Dylan Ingalls described the process of digging holes and adding composted cow manure to enrich the soil. And when I asked if it bothered them to work with manure, no one appeared to mind handling buckets of the stuff.
James Belanger told me about some of the things they planted – a butterfly bush, daffodils and sedum – while Olivia Frankl described digging holes for the daffodils with the bulb planter.
This winter, Nick Merrill shared, the class plans to stick a snowman measuring stick in the ground to gauge the amount of snow cover in the garden and next spring, he said, they will put up a bird feeder.
Dwight Kimball explained how the class prepared the garden for the cold.
“We put leaves and hay around the plants to keep them warm for the winter,” Kimball said.
And Brittany Beane, “Brit to my friends,” told me all about the scarecrow that the class had made for the Standish Fall Festival.
As they shared so willingly with me, it was impossible not to see both the enthusiasm the children had for their garden and the ownership and pride they felt. In fact, they couldn’t wait to show it to me.
Although the garden is planted directly outside of their classroom window, we donned coats and hurried outside to take a closer look. It may not be the best time of year to show off a garden, but the work put into this project by the class and volunteers shone through in the weak November sun.
Bales’ husband Chris supplied the compost. School employee Don Tanguay tilled the plot with his own rototiller. O’Donal’s Nursery provided plants at “very reduced” prices. And the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization as well as other area businesses and organizations also contributed.
An occupational therapist for 35 years, Bales, from Buxton, is excited about this pilot program and says the school has been very supportive.
“The district has taken a leap of faith – it’s a new idea,” she said.
At the beginning of the school year, Bales, who is studying to become a horticultural therapist, and Doyon took the children to Rippling Waters, an organic farm in Steep Falls.
And this spring, they plan to visit Bales’ greenhouse where the children will decide what to grow, who their customers are, and how much to charge.
According to Bales, the program is aligned to the Maine Learning Results and contributes to improve students’ science and math skills, social skills and sense of being a part of their community.
But, shhh! Don’t tell the students in Mrs. Doyon’s room. They just know that gardening is a lot of fun.
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