Allentown, PA (October 26, 2016): In the Spring of the 2013-2014 school year, McKinley Elementary School partnered with Rodale Press to bring a new learning experience to the students – the joy of gardening. Students have participated in the school’s Garden Club and have spent time before school to plant, tend, and harvest their garden.
All of their efforts have not gone unnoticed. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) recently announced the winners of their third annual “PHS Gardening and Greening Contest” and the McKinley Elementary Garden is one of four Blue Ribbon Winners in the Children’s Garden category.
“To say that we’re excited that our garden is being honored is an understatement,” says Scott Cole, Principal at McKinley Elementary School. “Through our Gardening Club – which currently has about 75 students – our students learn about designing, planting and maintaining a garden as well as the benefits of harvesting what you grow. This has been an incredible experience for our students and our local community has benefitted by being the recipients of what we grow. Nothing is wasted.”
Since its inception, students have worked side-by-side with a Rodale Master Gardener and McKinley staff to grow vegetables and learn about sustainable gardening. During the school year, the “fruits of their labor” are shared as the produce they grow is distributed to the community every Friday during the school’s Panera Bread Distribution event. Over the summer months, students from ACLA (a community summer program open to McKinley students) tend to the garden every day and harvest food for their lunches.
In addition to Rodale Press, McKinley’s Garden has been supported by Teenworks who built the fencing and provided funding from an Allentown City grant to build the garden shed, as well as St. Luke’s Hospital who donated the “Little Free Library” offering books on gardening.
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Greening and Gardening Contest recognizes individual gardeners and group efforts throughout the region. Fifty panels of judges visited 300 gardens in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware judging entries on design and total visual effect, with extra points awarded for creativity and sustainable practices. Gardens were also judged on maintenance and horticultural practices, as well as the variety, color, and suitability of plantings. Entries included home gardeners with in-ground or container gardens, community gardeners with vegetable and flower gardens, urban farms, rooftop gardens, environmental initiatives, garden blocks, public-space plantings, children’s gardens and parks. Businesses who beautified their properties, as well as municipalities that initiated environmental projects such as stormwater management, also entered. The ten contest categories included: Children’s Garden; Combination Garden; Container Garden; Environmental Initiatives; Flower Garden; Garden Block; Public Space: Plantings/Parks; Rooftop Garden; Urban Farm; and Vegetable Garden.
McKinley Elementary School’s commitment to enhance their neighborhood through the work in their garden and the positive impact the school’s garden has made on the community were cited as reasons for their selection as a Children’s Garden winner.
The school will be honored at an Awards Reception, along with the other “Blue Ribbon Winners” on November 13 at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Headquarters in Philadelphia.
About Allentown School District
ASD serves more than 17,000 students in a network of 22 early childhood, elementary, middle and high schools located throughout the City of Allentown, PA. The Allentown School District is the third largest urban school district out of 500 districts in the Commonwealth. A shared vision of the community, parents, guardians, staff and faculty focuses on “Empowering Students for Life,” providing ASD students with the skills and academics they need to realize their aspirations whether they be college, career or technical focus. ASD goals are aligned and compatible with the Pathways to Success Framework while providing a balanced education to all students. Allentown School District employs approximately 2,200 teachers, staff and administrators. The District, founded in 1866 and celebrating its Sesquicentennial throughout 2015-2016, serves students from 43 countries speaking 26 languages with nearly 90 percent of households qualifying as low income. ASD is committed to providing safe learning environments in which all students have equal access to education programs and resources.
Information provided by:
Kimberly Golden Benner
Director of Communications
Allentown School District
