The Seeds that Sew Us Together
Our New School Community Garden
by Noah, fifth grade student
A lot has changed since the end of last school year here at Far Brook, one of the main things being the space between the Lower School and Junior High buildings. Before last summer, the area where the garden now is was a grassy lawn, well, at least it was meant to be grassy. But no matter how many seeds were planted or how much caution tape was put up, the grass would never grow, making the “grassy” lawn wasted space.
Every day after Morning Meeting the first grade would do stretches in the lawn, convenient for them because it was right in front of their classroom. Also, because of the windy nature of the sidewalk, everybody would just cut across through the grass. All of this wore down the grass and eventually when it rained, the whole place became a big mud puddle. The new garden fixed all of these problems and more.
Another perk of the new design is the new path, which follows mostly the shortcut kids would take before. This is better because now it is faster to just stay on the path. As well as making use of wasted space, and making it faster to get from point A to B on campus, the new garden is bringing the community together.
Our wonderful and knowledgeable gardener Toby has come to our campus to meet with every class, and has taught us many things about gardening.The feeling that every class, from the 3-year olds to 8th grade is working together to achieve a common goal is bringing the community together and really showcasing Far Brook’s tightly-knit community.
Already the sunflowers have bloomed and so have the squash. Also, tomatoes and peppers are ripening and the lettuce that some classes planted with Toby in Early September have sprouted.
The garden is even inspiring our writing and art! Many natural temporary works of art have been created in and around the garden, particularly one named “Leaf” by some second graders, accompanied by an inspiring note. Classes have been spending time in the garden to inspire writing and even having class discussions while the weather is nice!
The garden is fixing many problems, bringing our community together, making use of wasted space, teaching us, and even inspiring us with our writing. It is a great addition to our beautiful campus and long may it stay here at Far Brook.
