Schools
Gardening for Good: Port Chester Kids Celebrate Harvest
At Port Chester Middle School, some kids elected to stick around after the bell to watch their hard work come to fruition.
With the help of one of their teachers, middle school kids in Port Chester transformed a plot of land from a dirt lot to a booming garden, all within the span of a few weeks.
On Tuesday, seventh- and eighth-graders of Port Chester Middle School celebrated the first harvest of the "Giving Garden" they helped create under the guidance of Allison Silverman, a family and consumer science teacher. The produce will be donated to the Carver Center, which provides meals to local kids and families.
Although turnips and radishes were the first vegetables to sprout today, other healthy vegetables are soon to follow. The tomatoes, lettuce and bok choi planted since May are expected to develop as the summer progresses, allowing the kids to see the yield from the hours they spent weeding and watering the blossoming seeds.
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“It’s good to grow our own food and help other people do a nice thing [for others,] said eighth-grader Harami Robles.
Throughout the month-long process, eighth-graders who are part of Silverman’s leadership program were able to use the Giving Garden to demonstrate acts of kindness and the value of helping others for younger students in the school.
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“We learn in school to be kind and respectful –we’re making other people follow us and follow the right path,” said eighth-grader Kimberly Coyt.
Those positive role models also chose to finish their school project instead of kicking off the summer season with friends on the last day of final exams.
Together, they prepared and handed out hot dogs, hamburgers and cold drinks to community members who stopped by to witness the first summer harvest.
“The kids have been so much more involved than I thought they would be," Silverman said. "They’re all here on their own time because they wanted to be a part of it."
The garden's output is staggered, with new harvests every two weeks or so during the summer.
The spirit of philanthropy was not only present in the hearts of the students, though. God’s Green Market farm donated all the seeds and sprinklers, while Copperine Landscaping and Westwood Organic Recycling played vital roles in maintaining the grounds.
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