LIVERMORE — Concern that students in this area lack food security has led to the start of a gardening project at Livermore Elementary School that will provide food to the school’s food pantry. 

Aimee DeGroat is a UMF student serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer at Spruce Mountain High School (SMHS). She and Amy Gatchell, coordinator of the 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) after school program, planned the gardening project. Through this effort, students will learn how to grow their own food and better understand the importance of eating nutritious foods.

On Monday afternoon, students in the 21st CCLC program helped remove sod from an area that will become the new garden. Several AmeriCorps volunteers and SMHS students helped out.

Rob Taylor, a teacher at the middle school, provided wheelbarrows to haul the sod away in. He also talked to the students about the importance of adding organic matter to the garden area and showed three different types to the youth eagerly looking on.

Taylor told the students that sphagnum peat moss is a material created by mosses living in boggy areas. Dead plants are harvested and used in gardening because of the material’s light weight and ability to hold moisture. 

The students were then showed a bag of worm castings. The 30-pound bag cost $18. Taylor also had some materials created by the worm composting project he maintains at the middle school. Thousands of red wiggler worms break down newspaper and appropriate food scraps to create a moist compost that is full of nutrients. Taylor said, “Worm castings are a great fertilizer – they’re even better than cow poop.” He also said it is much less expensive to do one’s own worm composting.

Finally, a pail of dark brown liquid was shown the students. The worm castings tea is the liquid collected from the worm composting project. It makes a good liquid fertilizer.

The various types of organic matter were added to the garden area and worked into the soil by the many volunteers. Additional soil from a nearby stockpile was also added and eagerly worked into the soil. Several spades, rakes, hoes, and other tools were available to make the job go faster.

Gatchell said the 21st CCLC after school program is in its third year in the Spruce Mountain School District. Funding for the program comes from a 5-year grant. There are sites at the Livermore and Jay Elementary Schools as well as one at the middle school. The gardening project is expanding on that part of the program.

 Additional amendments and fertilizer will be added and incorporated into the garden before it is planted. Taylor has a variety of seedlings he has grown in the greenhouse at the middle school that will be used. Some vegetables will also be direct seeded.

The produce grown will be donated to the Eagle Food Pantry or used to make healthy snacks for the 21st CCLC program. “Teaching students about healthy snacking options will reinforce the value of the garden and the students’ hard work while modeling nutritious eating habits,” DeGroat said.

The school district already teaches the 5210 healthy living initiative. This initiative stresses that for healthy living everyone should, on a daily basis, eat five servings of fruits and vegetables, spend two hours or less in front of a screen, get one hour of physical activity, and drink zero sugary drinks.

The garden project will reinforce that initiative while also teaching the students about supporting their community through the stocking of the food pantry shelves.

Manure is needed to further enrich the garden. Someone willing to lend their time and a rototiller would also help. Volunteers will maintain the garden throughout the summer. Anyone interested in helping should contact DeGroat by emailing [email protected].

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