The Steele Garden is one of the many terrific programs offered to the Steele Community through the PTA. Established many years ago through a partnership with Slow Food it continues to be cultivated by volunteers and community partners such as SustainEd, a local non-profit supporting school gardens. Reach out to steelevp1@gmail.com to get involved or check out our many volunteer opportunities on the Membership Toolkit. We need and appreciate volunteers of all levels of gardening experience!
These are some of the amazing programs run by the Garden Committee:
Members of the YFM Committee will work with students to design, market and run the YFMs. Markets are typically on Friday after school, starting in late August and running through mid-October. Students harvest fresh produce and flowers grown in our garden to sell in the market. Funds generated by the YFM go to support Steele School Garden programs.
Each Spring we ask Families to ADOPT-A-BED! Over the summer families tend the garden beds and enjoy the harvest. The commitment is about 1 hour every week.
The Garden Committee helps students harvest ready-to-eat produce from the gardens and then work with the kitchen staff to use the fresh produce in the school cafeteria.
Curriculum Integration (CI) works with teachers to develop lesson plans that will ensure more time in the Steele School Garden for their students. Increasing students’ “food literacy” by exposing them to the garden process from seedlings to table (plant seedlings, transplant, weeding, watering, harvesting, cafeteria, and farmer’s market) is the core of the garden program. The CI program teaches children the importance of working together toward a common goal and expands the exposure of children to a healthy way of eating, in turn hoping to increase their daily intake of fruits and vegetables.