GIVE

Contact Info

Description

GIVE is a Stamford-wide project inspired
and directed by Pam Sloane of OG with the goal of establishing vegetable gardens in all of the schools.

GIVE is a project I started with the approval of the superintendent of schools in Stamford, CT. As a recently retired teacher and avid gardener and "foodie", I had become increasingly aware of the disconnect between our children and the source of their food. I wanted to create an educational activity that was lifelong in impact, and mostly, beneficial to the children, to their health, and to the earth. I had an informal Garden Club for about 20 years at Dolan Middle School. The phys ed teacher, Andrea Wiesner, started talking to me about the gap in knowledge about food, nutrition, healthful eating that she was observing. She suggested that maybe we should have a vegetable garden. And so we began to read, to attend workshops, to get started. That was winter 2008-spring 2009. With the help of Chris Ried, a Master gardener, we began to create the garden. It was great fun. It was a learning experience for all of us. That's what school is - a place for everyone to learn. This style of activity-based learning is so impactful.When I retired in June 2009, I decided to continue as a volunteer at Dolan. After 2 successful growing seasons, in September of 2010 GIVE was begun- to try to get other schools to establish a vegetable garden on their premises. To date 20 schools in Stamford have or will have a vegetable garden.

Read more about "School Gardens"