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Our
goal for the garden is to engage the children of the
Fellowship - of all ages - in a project that will
-
be
a community undertaking crossing class and age
boundaries
-
involve
adults with children
-
teach
the concepts of organic gardening
-
help
the children to learn about biodiversity and the cycle
of the seasons first-hand
-
give
back to the Fellowship: beautiful flowers outside, cut
flowers for the altar inside
-
potentially
support the larger community, with donations of fresh
vegetables to the local food bank
-
fulfill
two of the requirements toward becoming a Green
Sanctuary: 1) include an environment-based curriculum;
2) create an all-church environmental project.
-
provide
a summer activity/curriculum
We
had a great first year, and met almost all of our goals.
We still have to find the best way to make gardening a
regular activity that most of the children can take part
in. Plants need attention more than just on Sundays.
Harvesting, in particular, almost always happened on a
weekday.
Squirrels
chomped down most of our pepper seedlings and several
tomato seedlings, but enough tomato plants survived to
produce a good crop. So far, we have donated 10 pounds of
beautiful tomatoes to Phoenixville Area Community Services
and to Safe Harbor. There are lots more tomatoes on the
vine. Hopefully, they'll be ripe before it gets too cold.
Donating
vegetables to local food banks/homeless shelters also ties
in with our curriculum them for the year of Peace &
Social Justice. Outside of the different curricula we're
using, we're looking for ways to contribute to our
community.
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