Sunday, September 21, 2008

Bagels and Mulch for all



We've been off to a bit of a slow start for Gardening at Montclair school this year, but yesterday we set things straight with a wonderfully hardy crew that got things going with a bang- our fall compost cleanup day was once again a pleasurable sight of people putting their muscle, sweat, and kindness directly into our school- not to mention having a little fun along the way.
Our big task of the day was a generous (~9 yard) supply of mulch that was donated to our school from Traveres Tree Service. This mulch is now spread throughout the floor of the friendship garden, between all the plants in the native garden, and on top of most of the soil at the front of the school. It was a lot of hard work and now that it has been dispersed everything looks great!
Meanwhile, we weeded and turned the soil in the beds for the friendship garden, and put a few more plants in the native garden, which is getting ready for it's school-wide unveiling on October 3rd.
If you missed this cleanup day, never fear! There are many ways of getting involved with the gardening program at our school, and there is talk of another cleanup day in just a few months. Kids are invited to come and help or just to ride their bikes and play. Bagels and Coffee and juice are served- these events are a wonderful way to build community and to help our school. The old phrase "many hands make light work" really applies on these days- so please, bring a friend!
And to those of you who did come for the Cleanup day-
THANK YOU!!!

Monday, May 5, 2008

California Garden Rejuvenation!



Last weekend a bunch of wonderfully kind-hearted parents gave up their Saturday to come out to dig in the soil here at Montclair Elementary. And what do we have to show for it? A beautifully restored all native garden- with a wonderful new boardwalk, a new irrigation system, and bunch of new plants growing in the soil! 
This garden was first established ten years ago by parents who wanted to give their children a place to learn about the beautiful plants that are native to our landscape. A wonderful plan but unfortunately between the kids playing and very little upkeep, the garden had fallen into some disrepair. But no longer. 
With much thanks to George Manalo-LeClair and Tracy Zeltser, the school received a grant to bring this garden back to life. Suddenly not only did we have the money, but we needed to spend the money quickly- or else we would loose it. A rare problem for the programs here. I got together some fine parents and we set to re-designing this much needed green space. 
The new garden is full of some wonderful fast growing flowers and shrubs- so many that a few years from now it should be overflowing with greenery and flowers. 
Much thanks to all of the people who came out on this unusually warm spring Saturday to help revitalize our garden- demonstrating that digging in the dirt can be both worthwhile and fun. A special thanks to the parents who helped get things ready before the big day- most notably Lara Jealous and Eric Veldhuizen. And a great thanks to Nancy Bloom, who has supported us all along the way. We're keeping the fence up for the remainder of this school year to give the new plants a chance to grow. Starting next school year the students will be able to walk and touch and even learn from our beautiful new garden.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Name that Bean


I made it outside today in time to catch Ms.  Morozumi's 2nd grade class rummaging in the garden. Look at these amazingly large and hearty unidentified beans! Who cares what they are, as long as they taste good...

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Daffodils! It must be spring...


Here is a quick photo in appreciation of the beautiful daffodils that popped up all around the new trees along Mountain Boulevard. These daffodils bulbs were donated to our school through the city of Oakland. Cathy Sharp was the wonderful one that figured it out and picked them up. Meanwhile it was Eric Veldhuizen  & his landscaping crew that got them into the ground in time. Look how great they are- thanks to all of them for the beautification.