EDUCATION

STEWARDSHIP

ENGAGEMENT

COMMUNITY

CONNECTION

SUSTAINABILITY

STUDENTS

STAFF

PARENTS

COMMUNITY

The Who

The Why

The Vision

Create a community garden space for Kent Middle School Students that provides an enrichment focused outdoor classroom environment that weaves in core education - �via an agreed upon curriculum.

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

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Agriculture

Chicken Care

Climate Change Composting

Cooking

Ecology

Engineering + Design

Entomology

Food Science

Life Cycle of Chickens

Sustainability

Woodworking / Maker

…MORE!�

Edible Schoolyard

The Purpose

To support opportunities for kids and our community to learn, play, and connect with/in nature and each other.

SHORT TERM GOALS

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1. Get more kids in the garden!
2. Educate kids in planting and growing process
3. Get kids cooking and tasting

Improvements Year to Date

• REPAIR - planter boxes, shed and (2) entry gates�
• TOOLS + SUPPLIES - Shears, trowels, gardening gloves, soil amendments, rakes, locks for each gate, irrigation meter and equipment, red umbrella, veggie basket, white board�
• CHICKEN CARE - chicken feed, pea gravel, nesting pads, mealworm; Major Chicken Coop Extension!�
• SIGNS + BANNERS for wayfinding�
• PLANTINGS - Supply of Veggie Starts and Flowers, succulents�
• SEATING - red bench from KIK; (8-10) tree stump stools

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2023-24 School Year Overview

SUMMER - Chicken Care, Families working together to mind chickens and harvest eggs

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FALL - Engage Children in Late Summer Garden, cooking during lunchtime club, learning to plant and tend to garden. Taste-testing Summer Harvest. Chicken care!

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WINTER - playing in the dirt, digging for worms, planting winter flowers, flower box clean up, pulling out beetles, fixing irrigation, lots of weeding, taking care of fruit trees! Chicken care!

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SPRING - planning and planting boxes, plant veggies, making salads with winter lettuce; more Chickens!

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Kent Community Garden + Coop

Example: Neil Cummins Hawks’ Garden

Example: Mill Valley Children’s Garden, Edna Maguire

Looking Forward: 2024-25 + Beyond

• Dedicated Garden Team
• Family work days
• Farmers Market Opportunities
• Staff/Teacher Involvement/Stewardship
• Bacich Visits
• Grants
• School Curriculum
• Dedicated Garden Teacher

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• Check out our Instagram: kentcommunitygarden

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Help is Needed!

Sign Up Genius --

• Big Jobs SUG: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080D48A9A9283-47374022-kcgarden#/
• Weekly Upkeep SUG: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080D48A9A9283-44468026-kent#/
• Stay Tuned: Summer Upkeep released in June

We need --

• Parents
• Partners (Deboi, PTA, KIK, Kent Garden Team, Admin)

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<<<< March 9, 2024 - Parent Work Day >>>

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INTRODUCING:

The Kent Pollinator Garden

Kent Pollinator Garden Location

How do we get there?

• March 9th - work day to sheet mulch and prep
• Move dirt and add a little irrigation
• Plant a few pollinators to start (and get through the summer)
• This is a 3 year process!
• PTA QR code to connect to an info/donation page

Why a Pollinator Garden?

• A way to support and protect local pollinator species which play a vital role in human food production and our Marin ecosystem (a lack of feeding/nesting areas is causing pollinators to decline).
• Beautify this unused space
• Educate and engage students about local, native plants and species (required for a pollinator garden)

Current

Conditions

What is a Pollinator Garden?

• A type of garden designed to grow specific nectar and pollen-producing plants in a way that attracts pollinating insects known as pollinators (birds, bees, butterflies)
• It provides various nectar producing flowers, shelter or shelter-providing plants for pollinators, and avoids the use of pesticides

Local Pollinator Garden Examples

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THANK YOU!

kentcommunitygarden

The garden is on Instagram!

Current Photos - Spring 2024