Our Garden is Here

Last spring I put my 5th graders to the task of designing their "dream garden." One of the criteria was to measure and design sketches for a garden that could fit in some of the open spaces near our portable. They were so excited by the idea we wound up planting beans, tomatoes (donated by Al's Gardens Center), and herbs in planters outside our portable.

All along our ultimate goal was to get a garden going at Sexton Mountain. So, in June I sent a Capital Improvement Proposal for our potential garden into the Beaverton School District, which included sketches and measurements created by my 5th grade class. Our garden was approved within a week.

With the help of some dedicated Sexton Mountain parents we created a slideshow to promote our potential garden at the school carnival last year. We were lucky enough to make contact with someone at Home Depot. It turned out HD has a whole division of volunteers who specialize in building school gardens. I sent our plans to HD and we were awarded a $2000 grant for our garden.

Long story short, HD's team of garden construction volunteers came to Sexton Mountain today with trucks, tools, lumber, and soil and built our gardens for us in the quintessential Oregon rain. Despite the weather they stuck it out and the garden beds look great. We are very thankful for their efforts.

Parents...if any of you happen to have a green thumb, extra tools, supplies, or ideas for our raised beds we welcome your contributions.