Mache started in our greenhouse in October is undaunted by many sub-zero nights this winter.
We are proud partners in an event this weekend that offers an opportunity to build more school relationships. We are hosting and participating in a workshop on Saturday for teachers in the Albany district and teaching students at the College of Saint Rose. The workshop, presented by Project Learning Tree, which supports environmental education nationwide, will focus on school gardening.
We will show folks around the space that we tend and talk about challenges and approaches to addressing them. We will encourage teachers to get their hands dirty and learn from the experience, by scooping soil and conducting a quick pH test. And we will give a presentation on starting seeds indoors – such as in a classroom.
But the really exciting part of this partnership is what we call a Classroom Garden in a Box that teachers will take with them when they leave. Generously funded by the Albany Fund for Education (a co-sponsor of the event along with College of Saint Rose) and building on classroom provisioning that we do independently, boxes will be filled with grow lights and other tools and supplies that will enable teachers to get started on Monday without hunting down anything else.
Can’t wait to see what is growing around Albany schools in two or three weeks!
—Bill Stoneman
