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Growing Together: Cultivating Learning, Community & Wellness

in the

Duniway School Garden

Principal Hilary Brittan Lack

Garden Coordinators Anna Barsotti & Brent Cartier

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Our Vision

for Duniway

Duniway Middle School aspires to be a leading institution of excellence, fostering lifelong learners who positively engage with their communities.

HILARY:

At Duniway, we believe education extends beyond the classroom. Our vision is to be a leading institution of excellence, fostering lifelong learners who positively engage with their communities. Over the past two years, our school-wide goals have focused on enhancing school climate and student belonging, ensuring that every student feels connected and supported.

As a school community, we’ve worked hard toward these goals through a variety of efforts, including:

A significant increase in student-centered school events
Our continued tradition of community service
A steady rise in after-school activity participation
Expanded athletic offerings—with 500 student enrollments in sports this year
A school culture that celebrates student engagement, from attendance growth to leadership opportunities
Year-long embedded staff development focused on strengthening student-to-student and student-to-school connections

This work directly aligns with our district’s strategic plan to create a safe, healthy, and supportive learning environment, where all students experience an increased sense of belonging and positive school culture.

The $94,000 CNP grant we received last spring brings this vision to life—creating a hands-on learning space that fosters student growth, well-being, and long-term community engagement. More than just a garden, this project is a commitment to connection, curiosity, and real-world impact.

At Duniway, we don’t just teach students—we grow them. This garden is another way we are planting the seeds for lifelong learning, connection, and success.

I’d now like to introduce two of my esteemed colleagues, Anna Barsotti and Brent Cartier, our Duniway Garden Grant Coordinators, along with some of our incredible inaugural gardening class students. They will be sharing the amazing work we’ve done so far—and where we’re headed next.

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A significant increase in student-centered school events
Our continued tradition of community service
A steady rise in after-school activity participation
Expanded athletic offerings—with 500 student enrollments in sports this year
A school culture that celebrates student engagement, from attendance growth to leadership opportunities
Year-long embedded staff development focused on strengthening student-to-student and student-to-school connections

Our Goals in Action

As a school community, we’ve worked hard toward these goals through a variety of efforts, including:

A significant increase in student-centered school events
Our continued tradition of community service
A steady rise in after-school activity participation
Expanded athletic offerings—with 500 student enrollments in sports this year
A school culture that celebrates student engagement, from attendance growth to leadership opportunities
Year-long embedded staff development focused on strengthening student-to-student and student-to-school connections

This work directly aligns with our district’s strategic plan to create a safe, healthy, and supportive learning environment, where all students experience an increased sense of belonging and positive school culture.

The $94,000 CNP grant we received last spring brings this vision to life—creating a hands-on learning space that fosters student growth, well-being, and long-term community engagement. More than just a garden, this project is a commitment to connection, curiosity, and real-world impact.

At Duniway, we don’t just teach students—we grow them. This garden is another way we are planting the seeds for lifelong learning, connection, and success.

I’d now like to introduce two of my esteemed colleagues, Anna Barsotti and Brent Cartier, our Duniway Garden Grant Coordinators, along with some of our incredible inaugural gardening class students. They will be sharing the amazing work we’ve done so far—and where we’re headed next.

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Why a Garden?

An outdoor classroom for hands-on learning
A peaceful space for students needing an alternative setting
A food producer connecting students to what they eat and the processes involved
A community gathering space for shared experiences
A staff wellness space to support educators
A celebration of native plants & sustainability
A pathway to high school horticulture programs
A way to foster lifelong interest in nature and home gardening

Anna:

Outdoor classroom: it is a new way to experience what they learn in class - design from STEM class may come into play with the building of garden boxes, For many of us the actual ‘doing’ of planting, building, experiencing is the most impactful way to learn. Students can move their bodies - have you ever sat in an uncomfortable chair for an hour, just to feel achy when you stand up? Does the achiness affect your attention? Outdoor classrooms actually BENEFIT what the students feel in their bodies, and that knowledge makes them more present to place. Look at this photo - none of the students were instructed to be in certain physical positions, but this space supports natural movement, body positioning, and connection. See them side-by-side? Kneeling on the padded camping chair? (show example) They are collecting lettuce that they grew from seed, are talking with friends, using the garden beds shaped by their own design.

Peaceful setting: the expansiveness of the space in itself releases a pressure valve. How many of you, when you step outside a building, take a breath of fresh air and feel a sigh of relief? For both staff and students simple act of being in an outdoor environment changes stress levels. For some students, being outside and learning will be the most comfortable they will feel all day, and that break will only support the rest of their school work and interactions with others.

Food producer: Fresh fruits and vegetables! And also the practice of growing from seed teaches the entire process - and the students are often amazed at the amount of research, preparation, management, patience, and persististance.

Community Gathering Space: This garden truly is for our wider community as well as our students. The vision is to have a year round garden that hosts families, gardening workshops, and is a hub of the neighborhood in connecting Duniway with other organizations. Currently we in conversation with the Master Gardeners and exploring the idea of a ‘Garden Angel’ a Master Gardener who acts as a resource, well of knowledge. and liaison to support the garden can host MG programs. Speaking of community, the opportunities for connection have been rich, and the community support has been inspiring! Gardening class is in conversation with the McMinnville Public Library to help research and restart the Seed Library, as well as provide extra care for the Native Garden. The Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District is doing a site visit and making planting recommendations, and the students realize that some of the native plant starts we use in our garden come from Miller Woods, where we also help in the plant nursery for our Duniway Service Days!

Staff Wellness: Besides bringing students outside during class, when staff steps outside the benefits exist for them as well. And to bring out lunch and sit in a warm greenhouse or in the green grass? Proven stress relievers. If partner organizations offer after school or weekend opportunities for staff to focus on their own gardening skills? Another way for the district to support their goals of employee wellness.

Native plants and sustainability: Students learn what grows here and why! A deeper understanding of place and history of peoples and plants past and present. Students experience the present moment as a part of something bigger and through resources, hands-on work, local farmers and other speakers are given the opportunity to think about what they want their own role to be in relation to natural resources and the community.

Pathway to MHS: It feels wonderful knowing that students have a path to follow with their agricultultural interests

Foster lifelong interest: The chance for students to be curious, to try new things, to invest themselves and their hard work in the garden, is an opportunity that teaches lifelong skills. Students talk about being on technology less now that they are reminded of how good it feels to be outside. Students are immersed in experiences that show them the community cares about them and is willing to support them.

And to end, all of this sums up my ‘why,’ why this garden is important to me. It’s a hard time to be an adult, and a really hard time to be a kid. I want students to know how invested our community is in them, how cared for they are. They deserve the chance to decide for themselves who they are in relation to the rest of the world; to find inner confidence, pursue curiosity, and build thoughtful knowledge-based relationships with the natural world. My ‘why’ is the part I get to play in our Duniway Vision Statement says “fostering lifelong learners who positively engage with their communities.”

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DMS Garden Mission Statement

The Duniway Middle School Garden is a safe space for students, staff, and community members of all abilities and backgrounds to connect with the natural world, practice social and emotional skills, and engage in academics across all disciplines.

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Garden Design
Agricultural History
Technology in Ag
Biology
Art & Culture
Community Engagement
Fresh Food Fridays
Guest Speakers

DMS Gardening Class Elective

As construction began at the start of the school year, we wanted the foundation of our garden program to reflect our student population as much as it represented our stated goals. With our Garden Elective, we’ve been able to allow our students to be foundational members of the garden community. Student voice and choice is the sunlight that fuels our growth!

Garden Design: Having a blank slate, students have designed and built garden beds, a bioswale, and preparing our greenhouse.

Agricultural History: Humanities move from hunter gatherers to an agrarian society, up to how we farm today.

Technology in Ag: Our students have been able to explore how we continue to grow more food with the help of technology. With help from our coding teacher, we’ve been able to build and code some automatic watering systems for household potted plants. We plan to apply our knowledge to our greenhouse and hydroponics systems as we begin to utilize those systems.

Biology: A garden is all about creating life. We’ve learned about how plants and animals interact, companion planting and the science behind it, and mycology and the importance of fungi.

Art & Culture: The wild world is an endless source of inspiration for artists. From pumpkin carving to felting, our students have been able to find a new artistic muse. As students see food and art side by side, they have also been introduced to the deep cultural aspects of gardens and farming. We’ve recently completed a series on what it means to be a person of color farming in America and how the landscape has changed over the past 50 years.

Community Engagement: We’ve also made great connections with our community. From field trips to our farmer’s market to allowed students to interview and interact with the vendors and the Mac Library native plants garden, our students are eager to share what they have learned with the broader community.

Fresh Food Fridays: To help students be introduced to new foods, we provide fresh and in-season foods for our students to try like herbs, delicata squash, and fresh sourdough bread. They take note of the texture, smell, and flavor of the foods. Then, they try to relate it to a memory or a feeling. Many of our students have found new foods that they never thought they’d enjoy.

Guest Speakers: Finally, we’ve had a number of guests come to help teach our students, with more planned for our future. On top of a local chef teaching pumpkin carving and a Mac artist teaching felting, we’ve had permaculture specialists from OSU discuss how to create a garden that tends to itself, with larger yields and less work!

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Sofia

Evelin

Katy

Keira

Claire

Jayden

Don’t just take our word for it!

Let’s hear from our students!

Landon

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Community Partners

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Marisa and Edwin Martinis

Wilco

Lowes - ‘Hometown Heroes’

Mark at Micro Excavations, LLC

Leland McDonald and Associates, LLC

Chef Benjamin Figueroa - Trellis Dundee

Charlie Bruder, mycologist and microbiologist

Margo Schwarz, permaculturist

Artist Susan Marrant

Crazy Creek Products

and New Energy Works!

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Coming Sept 6, 2025!

Anna: And I would like to share one more community partner with you: New Energy Works. They are a company with offices in New York and Portland, and a manufacturing shop in McMinnville. They operate on the triple bottom line - a belief that people, planet and profit work together to ensure a better future. Their use of solar power, recycling and the highest of building standards and materials, combined with being 100% employee owned, hold them up as a model for our students and community. It is with great excitement that we share with you that their generosity and craftsmanship will soon be part of our Duniway Garden! In September they will be onsite and raising a timber frame outdoor learning space - giving back in a BIG, BEAUTIFUL way to our community. We cannot thank them enough and encourage you be involved and stay tuned!!

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Every garden begins with a seed, and every future begins with opportunity. Thank you for helping our students grow strong!