Muddy Boots
Do you like working outside? Are you interested in gardening and landscaping? Well then this just might be the group for you. Join the Muddy Boots group to get your hands dirty while planting in the school garden or building structures to make the garden an attractive outdoor space. You will scientifically research seeds, plants, and bulbs to find the best plants for the garden. You will also artistically design and plan planting patterns. Use your engineering skills to design and build stepping stones and garden structures like benches and trellises. We want you to get your hands dirty and your boots muddy while making an active and productive school garden.
Team Building: divided students into 2 groups. Half researched building structures and decided on building a bench and making decorative pavers. Half researched seeds and veggie crops and worm farm.
1st Garden Visit: Measured the lot. Took inventory of the shed. Stripped the scarecrows of old clothes. Cleared area of debris. Raked the field. Took photos, measured garden and set boundaries.
Weekly Work: Builders worked on pavers as garden decor using quikcrete and plastic molds. Planters researched heirloom seeds vs hybrid seeds. Designed planting patterns. Started rounds of starter plants. Planters planted bulbs and weeded. Builders used six 8' beams and 12 cinder blocks for bench. Builders stained and hung 2 trellises at edge of garden.
This group worked to rework an existing school garden area. The group designed structures to beautify the garden and make it a more useable space for students and staff. This included stepping stones, benches, and trellises. The students also researched plants and designed planting patterns. They weeded the garden and planted seeds and bulbs. The garden is still a work in progress and groups in the future will continue to work at making this an active and productive garden.