Positive News US is a free, not for profit newspaper published four times a year in Ithaca, NY. We report on successful projects around the world in the areas of sustainability, social equality, education and happiness, with a clear message that "another world is possible."
more...
| a part of Positive News International |
Bulbs of Hope |
Photo: © Pam Talbott
by Becky Finn
"More grows in the garden than the gardener sows." - Old Spanish Proverb
Bulbs of HopeThis may be what many staff and students were thinking at Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (TST BOCES) Smith School when they embarked on an ambitious quest to design and create a therapeutic children's garden for the school. The vision was to create an organic garden where children of any age or ability level can learn the skills of belonging, generosity, independence, and mastery. These four components of the Circle of Courage are an integral part of the culture at Smith School. The garden will help students learn these values through the process of watching their own labors take life and grow. Current plans for the garden include wheelchair accessible raised vegetable beds, a sound play area, aromatherapy gardens, a small orchard, a living labyrinth, theme gardens, and a variety of student art and landscaping projects. The project is expected to be an ongoing, sustainable process that can be expanded and improved upon by staff and students each school year.
The Rows of Hope garden had its official groundbreaking ceremony last May, a festive celebration of music and sharing that brought the entire school together on a warm sunny afternoon, to reveal the garden's name, share planning ideas, and explore the new garden site. “One of the most wonderful results of this project," states Danielle Chouinard, the Smith School librarian, "is that it is uniting people and programs from all over the TST BOCES campus, who may never have had the opportunity to work together otherwise."
Generously funded by a Cornell Kids Growing Food grant and a number of local donations, the garden has had a successful running start. By the end of the fall, garden workers will have completed an impressive, but unobtrusive, 10-foot deer fence constructed of locust posts and a sheer black fencing mesh around the perimeter of the garden. Additionally, students planted 200 tulip, daffodil, crocus, and hyacinth bulbs on the garden plot in October, in anticipation of the spring.
To learn more, or to offer time, expertise, or donations to the Rows of Hope garden, please contact:
Danielle Chouinard or Mary Lauppe at (607) 257-1551
"More grows in the garden than the gardener sows." - Old Spanish Proverb
Bulbs of HopeThis may be what many staff and students were thinking at Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (TST BOCES) Smith School when they embarked on an ambitious quest to design and create a therapeutic children's garden for the school. The vision was to create an organic garden where children of any age or ability level can learn the skills of belonging, generosity, independence, and mastery. These four components of the Circle of Courage are an integral part of the culture at Smith School. The garden will help students learn these values through the process of watching their own labors take life and grow. Current plans for the garden include wheelchair accessible raised vegetable beds, a sound play area, aromatherapy gardens, a small orchard, a living labyrinth, theme gardens, and a variety of student art and landscaping projects. The project is expected to be an ongoing, sustainable process that can be expanded and improved upon by staff and students each school year.
The Rows of Hope garden had its official groundbreaking ceremony last May, a festive celebration of music and sharing that brought the entire school together on a warm sunny afternoon, to reveal the garden's name, share planning ideas, and explore the new garden site. “One of the most wonderful results of this project," states Danielle Chouinard, the Smith School librarian, "is that it is uniting people and programs from all over the TST BOCES campus, who may never have had the opportunity to work together otherwise."
Generously funded by a Cornell Kids Growing Food grant and a number of local donations, the garden has had a successful running start. By the end of the fall, garden workers will have completed an impressive, but unobtrusive, 10-foot deer fence constructed of locust posts and a sheer black fencing mesh around the perimeter of the garden. Additionally, students planted 200 tulip, daffodil, crocus, and hyacinth bulbs on the garden plot in October, in anticipation of the spring.
To learn more, or to offer time, expertise, or donations to the Rows of Hope garden, please contact:
Danielle Chouinard or Mary Lauppe at (607) 257-1551
Announcements
What do You find hopeful in the world today? Please contribute a short paragraph and be published in Positive News. We are currently selecting...
more >
The California Edition of Positive News is well on the way! We are looking for volunteers to help make it happen. To join our team contact...
more >
