The school garden is no new venture for Walker Elementary School – it was started in 2000 by an inspired teacher, and then fell fallow for a few years once that teacher was no longer involved. The garden was resurrected when Glen Widmer, now principal of Walker and Troy Elementary Schools, came on board. After using the garden as a math teacher, he found his interest in gardening to be an asset in the hiring process for the administrative role. Glen has continued to be a strong advocate and leader for the garden, expanding the program to bring FoodCorps service members to the site, including the dazzling Carolyn Wason. These two make a fantastic team – they’ve made huge strides in the last year, engaging nearly all of the classrooms at the four schools Carolyn works using the garden to enhance learning across subject matter. And, in other good news, Carolyn is ready to continue the ride for a second year in Liberty! It’s full steam ahead with a re-focused, re-invigorated set of next steps that they established with their Farm to School Institute team at the recent training in Vermont.
Read more about Walker Elementary's School Garden, and keep reading below for timely tips and activities from Carolyn's summer camp and classroom programs.