Student gardens grow life lessons

SUMMERVILLE -- The seed of an idea harvested by special-education teacher Irene Mazell has grown into a first-of-its-kind program in the state.

Ashley Ridge High School is the only school in South Carolina permitted to sell its student-grown produce in the cafeteria. And what makes that even more special is Mazell's special-needs students are responsible for tending the on-campus garden that has generated more than 400 pounds of produce. The students are disabled teenagers who can't earn a diploma and are in school to learn how to live more independently.

"We are learning," Mazell said. "But the main thing is the students are learning life lessons. It's a great experience with a great yield."

The Dorchester District 2 school garden is one of the more than 20 in the Lowcountry that are cultivated by students to grow fruits and vegetables. Some do it as part of a formal state program, while others have forged community partnerships to make it happen.

Few of the gardens are big enough to supply school cafeterias with the produce they serve, but many educators see the gardens as a teaching tool. They say it's a way of introducing students to new kinds of healthier foods, and of incorporating math, science and English lessons into hands-on projects.

Growing a business

At Ashley Ridge High, the germination of Mazell's idea began last fall when the school lost its horticulture program. With its greenhouse and garden going to waste, Mazell saw a learning opportunity for her students.

The garden expanded as fast as its seeds sprouted into full-grown plants. The garden tripled in size, and it's about as big as a football field.

Mazell's special-needs students took the produce home, as did other school faculty. The cafeteria couldn't buy the produce until the garden earned its Good Agricultural Practices certification from the state; school cafeterias can buy produce only from companies that have that seal of approval.

The school's garden received the certification shortly after Christmas, and the cafeteria has bought 70 pounds of collard greens, 40 pounds of turnips, and 20 pounds of carrots since then.

Mazell checks market prices and sells the vegetables for slightly less, so the cafeteria's savings are minimal, especially since it might buy more of the school's produce than it would have from another vendor. Mazell has reinvested the garden's proceeds into seeds, equipment and other items needed to keep the project going.

The community has been generous with its time and resources. One family gave 1,000 strawberry plants. Another donated a dump truck's worth of dirt. Teachers and students who aren't in Mazell's class also have gotten involved. Junior Gage Holsey rearranged his daily schedule so he could spend time with the special-needs students in the garden.

"That's the best part about this," he said.

Senior Elias Moreno also volunteers regularly.

"It's helping them out and learning new stuff," he said. "I get to learn new stuff, too. It's not just them."

Josh Hagerman, one of Mazell's special-needs students, ticked off what he's learned through the project: wearing gloves, picking out dead leaves and making a compost pile. He said his favorite part is enjoying the fruits of his labor.

"I like to eat the vegetables," he said. "The radishes."

Schools with gardens

School gardens are becoming increasingly common in local schools. The state launched a pilot program, Farm to School, last year that involved 52 schools statewide, and 11 of those were in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties.

The program has four main components, one of which is to encourage schools to start vegetable gardens. The intention isn't for schools to use their gardens' produce to supplement school menus, but it can be used for taste-testing and to introduce healthier options, said Holly Harring, the statewide Farm to School coordinator.

Other schools have gardens that have sprouted organically. Mitchell Elementary in downtown Charleston planted its garden three years ago with the help of the Green Heart project, an effort by one of the owners of the Charleston-based restaurant group REV, Karalee Nielsen, to teach inner-city students about eating fresh, locally grown, healthy food.

Taco Boy restaurant donates proceeds from one of its menu items to the project, and students grow food on campus year-round. Their efforts culminated last year with a Harvest Dinner, a fundraiser during which the garden's produce was served to more than 300 people.

Still, school Principal Dirk Bedford said the most important benefit of the garden has been the hands-on learning opportunities for students. The school's third- and fourth-graders use it every other week to learn science lessons, and fourth-graders have relied on it to study math problem-solving skills.

The garden and outdoor science lab at high-poverty Hursey Elementary in North Charleston can be attributed to Heather Osterfeld, a volunteer who raised more than $60,000 in donated cash, materials or labor for it.

Osterfeld is a certified teacher with a master's degree and is a Master Gardener. She proposed the KidsGrow! SchoolYard Garden Classroom project to district officials in 2010, but they couldn't fund it. So she found the money to execute the project.

It's turned into a part-time job, and Osterfeld teaches science lessons in the 7,000-square-foot garden and outdoor classroom three days a week.

Students regularly sample and take the produce home, but that's a secondary objective, Osterfeld said. The garden's primary purpose is to teach academics, and she'd like to see her model replicated in other high-poverty elementary schools, she said.

"This is a new concept," she said. "I am endeavoring to make a paradigm shift within the district for someone who has teaching experience and knowledge of sustainability systems and growing food, and how to teach all of this to children from preschool to fifth grade."

At Ashley Ridge High, Principal Karen Radcliffe said Swamp Fresh Garden (the school's mascot is the Swamp Fox) is a testament to what can be achieved through teamwork.

"It shows what can happen when everyone works together," Radcliffe said. "The results have been unbelievable and it's a really neat program."

The following is a list of Lowcountry schools that either have or are developing gardens that produce fruits and vegetables. There isn't an organization that tracks this information, so some schools with gardens might not have been included.

Berkeley

J.K. Gourdin Elementary

Cane Bay High

Charleston

Angel Oak Elementary*

Charleston Progressive Academy

Chicora Elementary

East Cooper Montessori Charter School

Ladson Elementary

Lambs Elementary

Memminger Elementary *

Mitchell Elementary

Mount Zion Elementary*

Minnie Hughes Elem.

Murray-LaSaine Elem. *

Pinehurst Elementary *

Sanders-Clyde School*

St. John's High School

Stono Park Elementary *

Zucker Middle

Dorchester 2

Alston Middle

Fort Dorchester Elementary

Knightsville Elementary

Dorchester 4

Harleyville Ridgeville Elementary

*NOTE: The gardens were started as part of the nonprofit Charleston Area Children's Garden Project, which works to create gardens in high-poverty or high-crime neighborhoods to give children hands-on learning experiences. The community service organization is affiliated with Clemson University Coastal Research and Education Center. Two more school gardens, one at C.E. Williams Middle and another at A.C. Corcoran Elementary, will be planted during the 2012-13 school year.

NOTE: These schools received 2011 Farm to School grants from the state, and part of the funding received by the schools is supposed to go toward creating a school garden.