How to help
Head to the middle/high school Saturday, May 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for a day of garden shaping and planting. All welcome. Don’t forget a rake.
By Kate Evans
Calling all gardeners and sustainable food enthusiasts — this Saturday marks the Ipswich High School’s garden shaping and planting kick-off.
Lend a helping hand at this bring-your-own-rake garden planting. Music and food will be provided while local gardeners and students create the school’s first garden.
The 50 by 75-foot plot behind the track and football field will soon be home to 28 to 30 vegetable varieties and several flowers. Vegetables will include tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, Swiss chard, cauliflower and kale.
"The idea of the garden is to extend far beyond the growing of plants and instead be a place for conversations on emerging issues and 21st Century skill development," said high school science teacher and garden coordinator John-Paul Mial. "Imagine using the space while reading Thoreau or other American literature focused on conservation. What was the economic climate like at that time in history?"
There are many different ways to get students learning from the garden.
In fact, high school teacher Betsy Hutton’s math class already has surveyed the plot and designed a viable planting plan. The students were divided into four teams competing for the winning design, which will be used this weekend. Mial also foresees the science department being handy in the garden’s upkeep, giving students experience in plant biology and ecology.
The garden would not be possible without the help of local organizations and residents, a grant from the Feoffees and donations from businesses in town. Three Sisters organization and Ipswich Sustainable Education worked with the public schools and Wayne Castonguay, Kelly Jacklin and Jay Stanbury to make this idea a reality.
The $5,000 Feoffee grant was used to remove an old shipping container from the plot, eliminate trees, brush and roots, purchase compost and hire a local farmer to mix the compost and soil with a tractor.
Corliss Brothers Nursery and Garden Center, Tedford & Martin True Value Hardware and Will Hill Home & Garden Center also donated to the garden.
After a great deal of work the site is ready for planting this weekend.
Once the crops are harvested they will be sold to local farmer’s markets or given to food banks, then eventually incorporated into the school’s cafeterias.
Junior Lily Stewart has helped organize this weekend’s event. She has advertised it on Facebook, and gone to Ipswich schools to spread the word.
"We grow up in a society that says ‘organic this’ and ‘organic that’ but none of us really know what that means," said Stewart. "I think with this garden, we’ll be able to finally understand how precious growing your own food is, and students will get a great deal of pride to call our school ‘self sustainable.’"
Steward knows many students who enjoy going to the Ipswich and Newburyport farmer’s markets, saying they understand how "cool" homegrown food is.
"This garden will be perfect for that demographic," Stewart said.
Environmental Club member and high school senior Ali Bouvier has spent her last semester in an independent study focused on organizing the garden. Over the last five months she has picked out the vegetables that will be grown, identified who will play instrumental roles in the garden’s upkeep this summer and reached out to local businesses for donations.
"I think this garden is an awesome way to be able to incorporate the many different subject departments in the teaching students about food, where our food comes from and how to grow our food," said Bouvier.
Bouvier has dyslexia, and she has always had a difficult time learning the way most other students do. "I am so much better with a hands-on approach, and this garden is a great way for students like me to be able to have hands-on while learning the curriculum," Bouvier said.
Gardening plot uncovered at Ipswich High School
How to help