Home | Contact Us | Volunteer | Client Grievance Policy |  Privacy Policy
– Kansas City Community Gardens
  • Programs
    • Become A Member
    • Beanstalk Children’s Garden
    • Community Partner Gardens
    • Giving Grove Orchards
    • Individual and Family Gardening
    • Rent A Plot
    • Schoolyard Gardens
    • Volunteer
  • Store
    • Plants
      • Cool Season Plants
      • Herb Plants
      • Warm Season Plants
    • Seeds
      • Cool Season Seeds
      • Warm Season Seeds
      • Flower Seeds
      • Herb Seeds
      • Unique & Fun Seeds
    • Asparagus, Leeks, Onions, Potatoes, & Shallots
    • Sweet Potatoes
    • Fruit Trees & Berry Plants
    • Garlic
    • Merchandise
    • Supplies
    • Tiller Rental
  • Resources
    • 2023 Seeder’s Digest
    • Find A Garden Near You
    • How To Videos
      • Planting and Maintenance
      • Harvesting
      • Fruit Maintenance
      • Cooking
      • Virtual Workshops
    • PDF Guide Sheets
      • Gardening Guidesheets
      • Fruit & Veggie Info Sheets
    • Planting Plan Tool
    • Recipes
    • Garden Grants
      • Sprout Micro Grant Program
      • KC Grow
    • Blogs
      • Schoolyard Gardens Blog
      • What’s Growing At KCCG Blog
  • Workshops
  • Events
    • Gardens at Sunset
    • Fall Family Festival
  • About
    • KCCG Mission and History
    • KCCG Staff
    • KCCG Board of Directors
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Donate
  • En Español
  • Programs
    • Become A Member
    • Beanstalk Children’s Garden
    • Community Partner Gardens
    • Giving Grove Orchards
    • Individual and Family Gardening
    • Rent A Plot
    • Schoolyard Gardens
    • Volunteer
  • Store
    • Plants
      • Cool Season Plants
      • Herb Plants
      • Warm Season Plants
    • Seeds
      • Cool Season Seeds
      • Warm Season Seeds
      • Flower Seeds
      • Herb Seeds
      • Unique & Fun Seeds
    • Asparagus, Leeks, Onions, Potatoes, & Shallots
    • Sweet Potatoes
    • Fruit Trees & Berry Plants
    • Garlic
    • Merchandise
    • Supplies
    • Tiller Rental
  • Resources
    • 2023 Seeder’s Digest
    • Find A Garden Near You
    • How To Videos
      • Planting and Maintenance
      • Harvesting
      • Fruit Maintenance
      • Cooking
      • Virtual Workshops
    • PDF Guide Sheets
      • Gardening Guidesheets
      • Fruit & Veggie Info Sheets
    • Planting Plan Tool
    • Recipes
    • Garden Grants
      • Sprout Micro Grant Program
      • KC Grow
    • Blogs
      • Schoolyard Gardens Blog
      • What’s Growing At KCCG Blog
  • Workshops
  • Events
    • Gardens at Sunset
    • Fall Family Festival
  • About
    • KCCG Mission and History
    • KCCG Staff
    • KCCG Board of Directors
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Donate
  • En Español
November 8, 2021  |  By Hannah Ebling-Artz In Schoolyard Gardens

School Spotlight: Horizon Academy

horizon feature_WP
1
0
0

For this week’s blog post, we take a closer look at Horizon Academy’s schoolyard garden. I talked to Technology Specialist for Horizon and SYG on-site coordinator, Alex Hayes, to get the details. Below, he gives us a little history on the school and shares all of the amazing things that have been happening in the Horizon Garden over the past several seasons.

Horizon Academy has been empowering students diagnosed with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities to become effective learners and confident self-advocates. Horizon Academy maintains accreditation through the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) and AdvancED and our program is accredited by the Orton-Gillingham Academy. For more information, please visit our website at horizon-academy.org. 

All of our students participate in the school garden that was been built by Kansas City Community Gardens (KCCG), including our newest beds which were built by volunteers from H&R Block in partnership with KCCG. Our west garden has been maintained by Master Gardeners as well, and has an emphasis on native plants for pollinators. Our students plant and tend from Spring to Fall and will be wintering two beds of greens. We will also run our indoor Tower Garden project in 2022 which provides a hydroponic growing experience for our middle school students.

Tulips, daffodils, strawberries and greens greet our families during the Spring, while gladiolus, sunflowers, and nightshade vegetables welcome back our students at the beginning of the school year in August. Students who are interested in horticulture, apply for Garden Assistant positions that help maintain the garden by watering and weeding weekly. They also assist in working with students in classrooms during group garden excursions, imparting newfound wisdom to their peers in the art of planting, weeding, and harvesting. Our students bring home produce and flowers when the harvest allows and staff get to share in the bounty as well. One student in particular even has his own tomato growing venture that has been featured on the news (Link to fox4 story).

Through the pandemic, we shifted to providing grow-at-home kits during the first lockdown in May and September of 2020, while still maintaining our school gardens with the help of a few students and staff who were kind enough to volunteer their time. Horizon Academy was in-person at the start of 2020-21 so planting tulip and daffodil bulbs went off without a hitch. We then worked with KCCG and provided their seeds to students for more growing opportunities again during April of this year. Some of our students went all out and helped turn their backyards into beautiful and productive gardens using the KCCG seeds.

Horizon Academy is focused on multi-sensory learning, and what better way to see growth and change than in the garden? With the help of KCCG, our students are able to go outside to feel the earth in their hands, put live plants and seeds in the soil, and come back weeks later to taste the fruits of their labor. We hope that by introducing the students to the plant life cycle, we can foster a connection to the earth through learning, patience, tasty veggies, and colorful flowers that lasts a lifetime.

Wow! Thanks for sharing about your garden Alex and Horizon students! And congratulations on a job well done!

As we wind down this fall garden season and head into winter, don’t forget to schedule time to close down your garden. Check out our blog post here and our helpful resource below for more details.

agardenforeveryschool Horizon Academy School Spotlight SYG
Previous StoryHow to Party with Your Harvest
Next StoryCan you Cabbage?

Related Articles

  • Crystal Feature_WP
    Farewell Crystal, but not Goodbye!
  • runway in snow_WP
    Indoor Winter Garden Activities

Recent KCCG Blogs

  • Farewell Crystal, but not Goodbye! Tuesday, 24, Jan
  • Community Spotlight: Cultivate KC’s Annual Farmers and Friends Meeting Tuesday, 17, Jan
  • Year in Review – KCCG’s 2022 Community Impact Friday, 30, Dec
  • Indoor Winter Garden Activities Monday, 19, Dec
  • Center High School’s Winter Beanstalk Tour Wednesday, 7, Dec
  • Taste Test Contest Winners – Fall 2022 Tuesday, 29, Nov
  • Cooking For The Holidays Monday, 21, Nov
  • How to Plant Garlic Monday, 14, Nov
  • KCCG Honors 2022 Volunteers Thursday, 10, Nov
  • Community Partner Spotlight: Water Garden Society of Greater Kansas City Monday, 7, Nov

Kansas City Community Gardens

6917 Kensington | Kansas City, MO 64132
Phone: 816.931.3877
Email: contact{at}kccg.org
Hours
Mon-Fri : 9am-5pm
Office Closed Saturdays and Sundays
Beanstalk Children's Garden - Open on Saturdays 9am-12pm except Labor Day Weekend (Sept 3rd)

Get the latest KCCG News

Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram

Copyright KCCG 2020