Lawrence Girl Scout troop creates school garden

Lawrence girl scout Sally Hubbard lifts a wheelbarrow as Darby Van Fleet shovels out a load of mulch as part of the USD 497 Farm to School program's efforts to construct a raised-bed garden behind Prairie Park School on Friday, July 17, 2015.

As some Lawrence students leave their elementary school days behind them, they also are leaving a gift they hope will keep growing.

Through the heat of Friday morning, a group of Girl Scouts worked on constructing a school garden at Prairie Park Elementary School, 2711 Kensington Road. The garden slowly took form as the scouts carried buckets and pushed wheelbarrows piled with mulch, dirt or rocks.

“Their idea was to start a garden to give back to the community,” said Troop Leader Jamie McNally.

The garden is the project of Girl Scout Troop 1550, as well as the culmination of months of research, planning and design done by the troop’s 14 members, most of whom attended fifth grade at Prairie Park last school year, McNally said. The garden will have nine raised beds once complete, and its produce will go to the school’s cafeteria and food pantry.

“In our schools we can get fresh fruit and vegetables for us to have for our lunches,” Girl Scout Sally Hubbard said as she took a break from hauling mulch.

The troop started planning the garden in September 2014 as part of their Bronze Award Project and used about $800 from their Girl Scout Cookie sales to help fund the purchase of supplies, McNally said. The project necessitated long-term planning and organizational skills by the troop members, McNally said.

“They got to learn about all the steps that need to happen,” she said.

Along the way, the troop coordinated its effort with the Lawrence school district’s Farm to School program, and with its support roughly doubled the size of the garden. As part of the Farm to School program, each grade level will have its own bed, and the garden will be coordinated with health and nutrition curriculum in the classroom, said Denise Johnson, the district’s K-12 Health and Wellness Administrator.

“The goal is to have a deeper understanding of nutrition and of where food comes from,” Johnson explained.

Farm to School, a district-wide Kansas Department of Agriculture program, already helps support school gardens at all of Lawrence’s middle schools, and Johnson said they plan to expand the program to the elementary schools as well.

The produce grown in the school gardens helps get more local produce into cafeteria meals, said Crystal Hammerschmidt, Farm to School coordinator.

“It’s making sure we’re putting these healthy options in front of kids so they have the ability to choose,” she said.

In addition to the Farm to School team, family members of the troop, a few Lawrence Cub Scouts and members of the Prairie Park Boys and Girls Club also helped with the garden, a collective Hammerschmidt said was a testament to the garden’s communal aspect.

“This is incredible to have all these people and all these hands out here,” she said.

While McNally said the troop plans to put in a few workdays in the future as part of its community service projects, most of the garden’s care will be left to Prairie Park students. Girl Scout Shelby Bointy, who will be a sixth-grader at South Middle School next school year, said the benefits of the garden go beyond the produce.

“I think it can help teach little kids the responsibility of taking care of things,” she said.

Sally agreed, adding, “Our hope is to pass it on and hopefully it can stay alive for a very long time.”