This summer the YMCA has hosted a summer camp at Indian Creek Elementary in the Center School District. Indian Creek joined our Schoolyard Gardens program last spring, and the YMCA was excited to care for the students’ garden over the summer. The garden club has met each Friday morning to plant, mulch, weed and water […]
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 […]
Summer Pests: The Tomato Hornworm
The warm summer temperatures introduce a new kind of pest to the garden. The Tomato Hornworm starts to show itself mid- to late-summer and for 3 to 4 weeks they feed on your tomato, eggplant and pepper plants. The fruit eventually drops off the plant and burrows itself into the soil to pupate and become […]
Leanna Flandermeyer Beanstalk Children’s Garden Now Open!
Last week Kansas City Community Gardens’ Beanstalk Children’s Garden opened for the season. In the first two weeks alone over 800 children have toured through the garden. Throughout the summer and early fall, over 4,000 children, teachers and parents will visit the garden, allowing children to become inspired to make healthy food choices as they […]
Barstow Schoolyard Garden Creates Pop Up Farmers’ Market and Donates the Proceeds to KCCG
The Barstow School has worked with Kansas City Community Gardens for over 8 years. They started with a bang by building 24 raised beds right off the bat! Mrs. Sarah Holmes’s science students have helped plant and maintain the vegetable garden over the years. Earlier this year, I sat down with Mrs. Holmes and Barstow’s […]
Summer School Students are Working Hard to Maintain their Schoolyard Gardens During These Hot Months
Summer school programs throughout Kansas City began last week, and many of these students have been tasked with maintaining their vegetable gardens during these hot months. Many of the 200 plus schoolyard gardens that we work with planted vegetables like peppers, tomatoes and sweet potatoes in May, which are perfect for schools that aren’t in […]
Students at Hillcrest Learn the Importance of Watering their Summer Schoolyard Garden
Students at Hillcrest Christian in Overland Park, KS harvested sweet peas out of the garden. This was their first time tasting anything out of their garden since becoming Schoolyard Garden members last February. There was a lot of excitement from everyone, and one student remarked that he wanted to “eat all of the sweet peas” […]
With the End of the School Year, Students Celebrate #IGrewThis
It’s been a busy spring for Schoolyard Gardens! In March, over 160 schools planted spring crops. While the first day of planting the garden is exciting and full of hope, the real joys—and sometimes frustrations—happens during the following eight weeks. Students, teachers and even our Schoolyards Gardens staff watch as our tending and hard work […]
Students Revive the Schoolyard Garden at Dobbs Elementary
The raised bed vegetable garden at Dobbs Elementary in the Hickman Mills school district was one of the first schoolyard gardens put in by Kansas City Community Gardens 8 years ago. For the past few years, no teacher was willing to take on the garden, so it was left un-planted for several seasons. But this […]