David Brown, morning anchor and environmental reporter for Channel 5 News, visited the Oak Hill Community Garden Project on Tuesday. The story is scheduled to appear briefly on Channel 5 nightly news at 11 pm on Monday (June 8), again on the Tuesday morning news, and more extensively on Tuesday during the 5 pm broadcast (as an environmental segment).
Team members are Marianne Marks, Stephanie Finegold, Cleo Syph, Maureen McCann, Matt Timmins, Courtney Beckerman, and Jessica Wadden. The big idea for the Community Garden project is that humans have the ability to reduce the negative impact of human activity on the environment. Students and teachers together have planned and grown a community garden, using composted school lunch waste in the process. Before the end of the year, produce from the garden will be served to the school community as a salad at lunch!
Although this project was conceived of independently and funded by a grant from the Newton Conservators, the teachers give credit to BRIM (Breaking Ranks in the Middle) for allowing them to bring it together and make it happen this year. The collaborative group includes teachers from team subjects and Special Ed across all three grades who have no common planning time during the school day. The early release time enabled them to meet with a consultant, Greg Maslowe, from the Newton Community Farm, and to plan together extensively as the project unfolded over the year. They will continue and expand the project next year.
Kudos to Jenny Craddock, K-8 Science Coordinator, for making contact with David Brown and sparking his interest in the Community Garden Project.