Andover Elementary School students, from left, second grader Archer Owings, fifth grader Truly Woodbury and first grader Riley Merrill plant in the school garden Monday. School secretary Amanda Beliveau said 22 students from prekindergarten through grade five will have time in the garden each day. Submitted photo

ANDOVER — Andover Elementary School secretary Amanda Beliveau and teachers Sarah Woodbury, Rachael Wyman and Brooke Harris have been volunteering their time to create a large garden project behind Andover Elementary School.

Since the school is small with only 15 staff members and 22 students from prekindergarten through grade 5, all classrooms will have daily time out in the garden, Beliveau said in an interview Monday.

Last fall Beliveau, Wyman and Harris proposed to the town school board applying for a $3,000 Whole Kids Garden Grant from Whole Foods Market Foundation. It was received Aug. 1.

“We’re such a small, remote school that we didn’t think we would get it,” Beliveau said. The women also thought about how they might optimize use of the land behind the school and the grant money was a perfect opportunity to create a garden. They knew that many staff members, including Beliveau and Harris, have farms and the skill set to teach gardening, cooking and canning.

Andover Elementary School teachers, from left, Brooke Harris, Rachael Wyman, school secretary Amanda Beliveau and teacher Sarah Woodbury stand Monday in front of the school’s greenhouse and raised bed gardens they and other volunteers helped to build on the school grounds. They obtained a $3,000 from the Whole Kids Garden Grant program to teach students gardening and homesteading skills. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

“So the whole idea kind of came about when we were discussing how children have no (homemaking) skills anymore and we’re losing our practical and traditional skills,” Beliveau said. Also, the school’s kitchen manager, Danielle Cannell, inspired the women as they watched her use fresh foods from local farms to prepare many meals from scratch.

The students will have chores in the garden and then a lot of their learning skills will be part of the school’s after-school program, Beliveau said. As part of their after-school program, the children will clear away grass and weeds from the freshly tilled garden area.

During the summer, staff and volunteers built raised beds and container gardens and “the kids really enjoyed” growing and picking cucumber and squash, Beliveau said.

They’re preparing 20 raised beds so every class in their after-school program will have beds to work on, Beliveau said. They also have a 20-foot bed for strawberry plants. “And our goal is to have 15 raspberry plants, five of early, mid and late varieties,” so students can pick throughout the season,” Beliveau said.

Woodbury said the staff will also introduce bird watching, with the idea that an entire garden border of pollinator plants will attract more birds and insects.

Children who eat a lot of junk food often behave poorly when they eat that kind of food, Beliveau said, so part of the plan is in how to interest children in eating good food.

Andover Elementary School students, from left, Riley Merrill, Sadie Bragg, Jackie Bragg and Maverick Hutchins clear grass Monday during an after-school program to teach gardening skills. The goal this fall is to build raised bed planters and plant garlic and other bulbs. Submitted photo

Students will also be taught how to can and ferment produce from the gardens.

Wyman said school staff has been working to tie in their curriculum with learning homesteading skills, and “it’s working so nicely.” The school

Andover Elementary School fourth and fifth grade students, from left, William Cooper, Waylon McGuire, Raymond Tuttle Jr., Alex Simmons, Emma Andexler, Michael Grafton, Aksel Caspary and Connor St. Claire-Corbin work Monday in the school’s garden during an after-school program to teach skills. Submitted photo

has sewing machines, knitting machines and a pressure canner. “We have many, many tools for the kids to start exploring how to homestead,” she said.

Woodbury said the gardening program is a “dream come true” because the school needs the community volunteers to make the project a success. “We have volunteers willing to come in and help the kids learn how to sew; they want to come in and do special canning recipes. And we have people coming in that are willing to help build these beds with them. It’s been a really nice thing to see happen between a small school and our community.”

Beliveau said the staff’s goal this fall is to build raised bed planters and plant garlic and other bulbs.

“This coming spring, we’re going to do a formal unveiling, like a ribbon cutting out here, so the community can come and see what they’ve done and what they’ve put together, and then they can start digging and getting (our students’) hands dirty.