Howe Elementary: Community Engagement and a Golden Shovel 

Howe Elementary School has a golden shovel.  This shovel doesn’t haul mulch or turn soil.  Instead it is displayed near the school office acknowledging the garden helpers that used other, more ordinary shovels to revitalize Howe’s garden.  

Howe had a garden for years, but over time it fell into disrepair.  The original beds were rotting and the space was overgrown.  “The garden needed revitalizing.  New engagement,” explained school social worker, Anne Tobias-Becker.  

That engagement came in all different shape and size.  From the 4th and 5th grade students who planted seeds in their classroom to teacher Paul Hannemann who skillfully leveled the old beds to replace them with beautiful new cedar boxes and a watering system to keep the plants growing.    

As Howe’s garden grew, so did the number of helpers.  Support from both of the district’s high schools – East and West – brought encouragement, practical advice, and even some plants.  “They sort of adopted us,” said Howe teacher, Emily Villwock.

Soon the local media had caught the Howe garden bug.  One station took roll of students enthusiastically, though perhaps haphazardly, planting in a garden bed.  That bed now holds a special place of honor as it is dubbed, the “Kooky Garden.”   

Community partners like Live 54218 also stepped up to help renew Howe’s garden. The health coalition featured the garden in the Incredible Edible Garden Tour, attributing its inclusion to the huge transformation it underwent.

Live 54218, along with other community partners, hosted a Garden Kick-Off with planting activities, produce tastings, and a fitness challenge.  The event brought in over 100 students, parents, and staff. 

Donna Pinckney and her two sons, Andrae and Brian, were at the garden kick-off and quickly volunteered to help care for the garden over the summer.  “I was so glad that Live 54218 offered that opportunity for families,” said Pinckney.  “In years past, I saw the garden growing and I never knew if it could be picked from.  Then last year I signed up.  I learned it was a school garden and families were able pick from it.” 

Since both boys were in summer school on-site, the family took to checking the garden often.  In addition to picking the ripe produce, the Pinckneys also inspected new growth and watered as needed.  “The boys thought it was so cool,” said Pinckney.  “Sometimes they liked getting wet more than watering the garden, but it was a lot of fun.  We liked watching it grow.”

The Pinckneys commitment to the garden did not go unnoticed.  The golden shovel hanging near the school office is awarded to the family who was the lead contributor to the garden success.  For that reason, it is a picture of the Pinckney family hanging proudly next to the golden shovel at Howe Elementary School.

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"Worms Work" in Mt. Horeb Special Education Class

Franke Wallitsch sells the best soil around. A recent graduate of Mt. Horeb High School, Wallitsch got his start as a composter–and a businessman–at his alma mater. Challenged by autism that causes him to be a non-verbal communicator, Wallitsch was able to gain experience and follow his interests in composting and waste systems as a student in Mary McDonough-Sutter’s special education classroom at Mt. Horeb High. Now, bags containing “Worm Works by Frank,” a finely sifted mixture of composted worm castings, can be found at K&A Greenhouses, the Premier Co-op in Mt. Horeb, and the Mt. Horeb farmer’s market.

Worm Works by Frank begins as cafeteria waste. Mt. Horeb High collects both pre-consumer waste – peelings and other kitchen scraps – as well as post-consumer lunch tray waste, turning it into food for the thousands of red worms that are an integral part of the special education program.

Students – many of whom have severe cognitive disabilities – sort, chop, and measure the waste for the worms, which teaches practical skills such as knife safety, and also creates a thriving compost pile. “Working with the compost provides an errorless learning environment for my students,” McDonough-Sutter said “It leaves room for mistakes and teaches new skills in a therapeutic way.”

Now in it’s fifth year, the Mt. Horeb composting program has overcome a number of challenges along the way.  “When we started, we visited Growing Power, got some worms, and just jumped right in,” McDonough-Sutter said. “We ended up creating a giant worm bin out of an old hot tub to hold all the compost, but it just made this horrible stink that would waft into the classroom.”

Right before they were able to give up the project, they asked for help from Joe Van Rossum of UW Extension, who has extensive experience setting up and problem-solving compost systems. He helped McDonough-Sutter and her students learn more about the biology of the red worm and redesign their system. They replaced the four-foot deep hot tub bin with several wide, shallow bins more suited to the red worm’s lifestyle near the surface of the soil, creating an active, smell-free compost. In the winter, the worms move inside in plastic bins – literally lining the walls of McDonough-Sutter’s classroom – and food waste is pre-composted in traditional bins outdoors. In spring and summer, the worms move outside, where the pre-composted material makes for easy meals. Student volunteers monitor the temperature until school resumes in fall, when the compost is harvested.

“Composting provides an opportunity for kids to understand how much food waste they may be generating beyond just what’s on their lunch tray,” Van Rossum said. “They can see it build up over a week, or an entire year. And teachers can use the compost as a learning tool, whether it’s science or math or even writing.”

Students at Mt. Horeb are also learning small business skills via their school compost project. A portion of the worm castings are incorporated into a student-made potting mix for house plants; potted plants are then sold to staff at craft fairs and to school staff. The rest of the castings are sold to Franke’s Worm Works, where he prepares it for sale by sifting and freezing – to eliminate any potential pests or diseases – with support from a local vocational agency and his parents.

McDonough-Sutter and her students are hoping to expand the composting program to other schools in Mt. Horeb. The “compost classroom” already hosts third graders each year for a worm-themed field trip. In the future, McDonough-Sutter hopes that her students can help provide support for elementary cafeterias, teaching younger students how to sort food waste, and adding to the school’s compost success.

Contact Joe Van Rossum

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