Northside students excited by garden

There is something exciting going on these days at Northside Elementary School near Sandpoint.

The members of the Northside School Garden Club have been growing a productive vegetable garden for the past few months and are having an awful lot of fun in the process.

This project came about through the tireless efforts of three enthusiastic volunteers: avid gardeners Michele Murphree and Gail Burkett, and parent Jill Edmundson.

There are 38 members in the club, ranging from kindergarteners through sixth-graders. They meet every Monday afternoon.

“We were concerned about health issues with kids and the disconnect about where food comes from,” explains Murphree.

“It’s empowering for these kids to learn these skills and to infuse lessons from the garden into the curriculum. We hope to do this at other schools in the district as well.”

Burkett, who is a Master Gardener, taught the students how to use the “lasagna gardening” method of layering materials to build up their planting beds.

They started by putting down a cardboard barrier, which was then covered with layers of garden refuse, manure and three truckloads of soil. That way, the plants will have all the nutrients they need.

The students are growing onions, lettuce, peas, leeks, carrots, potatoes, winter squash, corn, zucchini, beans, parsley, tomatoes, strawberries and blueberries. They are keeping journals so they can record what they are doing in the garden.

“It’s a wonderful learning tool,” Murphree says.

In addition to Murphree, Burkett and Edmundson, teachers like Janet Clark and Sharon Burdick, other parents, school staff and Bonner County Master Gardeners are helping the kids learn how to grow a successful garden organically.

Thanks to a recent grant from the Panhandle Alliance for Education, they will be adding two raised beds, two compost bins and a hoop house.

How do the kids feel about the garden?

Ronnie Korn, 10, thinks “it’s neat that you get to plant stuff. I liked helping make the beds.”

His sister, Katie, 8, added: “We got to eat salads made with some of our lettuce last week. It was really good. When you just buy it at the grocery store, you don’t know how the plants grow.”

“It’s cool watching plants grow,” said Calli Laybourne, 10. “We were so excited when the seeds sprouted and now we’re getting to eat the plants. This is a good experience because I can help my mom in the garden this summer.”

Ally Wickboldt, 12, feels it’s “a good community project. It’s cool to plant things together and we’re building relationships.”

That sentiment was echoed by Max Edmundson, 10, who said: “I think it’s pretty cool seeing the little kids working with the big kids to make something happen.”

In addition to learning how to grow plants, the kids are learning how to share with others. They have planted an extra row of carrots to donate to the Bonner County Food Bank and much of what they’re growing will be used for the annual harvest dinner this fall.

“The harvest dinner has been held for over 50 years and is a real community effort,” Burkett says.

“I’m just amazed at how much the kids have put into this,” Murphree adds. “I see the sharing, the teamwork and the important things they’re learning. This is the most rewarding project I have ever been involved in.”