Health officials, Parkside students partner in community garden

Six-year-old Madalyn Gill walked with her first-grade Parkside class to the Salt Lake Valley Health Department. It wasn’t a field trip to learn about health procedures, but rather to pick beans and Marigold seeds and learn new skills in their partnership garden.

“My favorite part is finding seeds in flowers because we just learned about all kinds of seeds in school and at the nature center (Kennecott Nature Center of Murray),” Madalyn said.

This is the second year that Salt Lake Valley Health Department and Parkside Elementary have partnered to create a community garden. Beans, squash, raspberries, green beans, okra, lettuce, beets, cauliflower, tomatoes, several herbs and even a pumpkin are growing for students to harvest this fall.

Environmental Health Specialist Pete Kuennemann planned the “Sustainability Garden,” which students planted last spring.

“The gardens are better use of our land,” Kuennemann said. “People learn and benefit from the harvest, and it’s inviting. We share the food with Parkside students and families, our own employees, Utah Food Bank and there’s usually some in our office for our patrons.”

Kuennemann said the idea of a community garden isn’t new, but few partner with a school. One day each week, students rotate to help Kuennemann and his co-worker Eric Michaels in the garden. Over the summer, the Parent-Teacher Association president, her family and friends helped maintain the garden.

First-grade teacher Jessica Wright said that this was the first visit for her class.

“It’s a good way to get students involved and learn hands-on about core curriculum, like the life cycle of seeds and plants,” she said. “It also teaches students cooperation and responsibility.”

While Kuennemann taught students which things to harvest, he also educated them about bees pollinating flowers and helping plants grow.

“The kids are getting to be part of the community and are learning life skills with the garden,” first-grade teacher Erica Pond said. “They’re excited about it.”

First-grader Alexis Green said she loves picking green beans.

“We’ve had them at home and at This is the Place’s garden (where she volunteered in this summer),” Green said. “They’re yummy. We’re getting to learn more about seeds that turn into plants and have fun.”

Green’s mother, Mary, was along with the field trip.

“This is great that the students get to see where food comes from and they’re so excited to pick it and share when they go home,” she said.

Special instruction teacher Matt Nelsen said this gives all Parkside students a shared experience in gardening, which teachers can use in their curriculum from journal writing to essays. Some teachers incorporate it into math, such as learning which pile is greater than or less than another. Plant cycle and composting also are part of the state core curriculum in fourth and sixth grades.

“It’s just a great opportunity to be part of the community, part of helping each other out, getting their hands dirty with first-hand experience and having fun,” Nelson said. “There’s great possibilities with this from expanding it to other schools or having our older students figure out cost per pound at a farmer’s market.”