After weeks of tending the gardens, preschool students are starting to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Recently, I stopped by a few schools to see different ways teachers are incorporating the garden into their lessons for the day. Ms. Hamme’s classroom at St Joseph Catholic school learned about a popular Mexican snack their teacher […]
New Therapeutic Garden Construction at Swope Park Health Services
In the spring of 2011, Swope Park Health Services decided to build 6 raised beds to plant a garden to be cared for by patients in the behavioral health day program, which treats disorders such as anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, grief, and post-traumatic stress to name a few. Studies have shown that gardening can help […]
Community Partner Gardens Helps Faubion UMC Garden Flourish
Six years ago, Tom Clayton started a straw bale garden in a neighbor’s yard but due to lack of sunshine, it wasn’t an ideal location. Three years later, Clayton decided to move the garden to his church, the Faubion United Methodist Church in Gladstone, MO, which provided better sunshine but still had room to improve. […]
Schoolyard Gardens Welcomes Josh!
Hello to all the friends of Schoolyard Gardens! My name is Josh Ellermann, and I will be serving as the Schoolyard Gardens Assistant for Kansas City Community Gardens from August 2017- July 2018. Having spent just three days on staff, I have been thoroughly inspired by the impact KCCG makes in Kansas City and am […]
Prime Time for Planting for Fall Garden Crops!
Ben Sharda is KCCG’s Executive Director and he has led KCCG for more than 30 years. His practical approach to gardening has played a key role in KCCG’s success. This month, Ben offers tips on fertilizing your plants. KCCG has always promoted and encouraged planting for fall garden crops. We grow plants for sale and […]
The Lathrop Garden
This article was submitted by Michael Lathrop, who has been a KCCG member for 4 years and uses KCCG resources to garden with his son, Alex. When I first learned about KCCG I was excited to know that I could buy garden starts, seeds and straw for a reduced and discounted price by joining. They […]
Schoolyard Gardens Assistant: A Role of Many Rewards
As most of you know, I will be leaving my post as the Schoolyard Gardens Assistant for Kansas City Community Gardens. I began my time with KCCG as an AmeriCorps volunteer in 2015 and I started by working with just a handful of school gardens. As I stayed on at KCCG as a fulltime staff […]
Olathe Middle School Builds Four Raised Beds to Grow Vegetables Next School Year
Despite this week’s heat, the Schoolyard Gardens team helped teachers and students build 4 raised garden beds at Olathe’s Santa Fe Trail Middle School. The July 11 construction took about an hour thanks to the help of the school’s football team, which took a break from their practice to come help shovel soil. Karla Laffoon, […]
A Farewell from Brandon, SYG’s AmeriCorps Volunteer
For those of you whom I have not had the opportunity to meet, my name is Brandon and I have been the AmeriCorps volunteer serving with the Schoolyard Gardens team. My one year term of service is coming to a close at the end of July, so I’d like to recap my term with some […]
A Youth Garden at 27th & Prospect
Shea Bergman, KCCG’s Youth and Home Gardens Coordinator, contributed to this article. KCCG recently partnered with the Morningstar Youth & Family Life Center to install a raised bed garden for the summer scholars program. The program runs June through August and enrolls students in K to 8th grade for daily activities and learning opportunities. Morningstar leaders Carl […]