Growing Together
Growing Together
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Published in our June 2025 newsletter
Roosevelt Elementary School’s garden proves that while it takes a community to grow a garden, planting a school garden can be the first step in building a community, too. From the generosity of community organizations to the dedication and enthusiasm of teachers and students, the success of Roosevelt’s school garden has been the result of lots of hard work and even more teamwork.
Planning for the garden began even before school started in the fall. Grant funding for the project was secured by Greener Partners from the Ron Jaworski Foundation, while the Philadelphia Horticultural Society donated fruit trees, which are planted on the edge of the garden just in front of the school. EAT RIGHT PHILLY provided garden supplies, including grow bags, peat pots, and seeds.
While Greener Partners and EAT RIGHT PHILLY had both been working with Roosevelt Elementary for the duration of the school year, the tipping point for the school garden came in late March during several volunteer days organized by Jenny, a Program Manager from Greener Partners. Joined by Alec, an EAT RIGHT PHILLY Nutrition Coordinator, and Ms. Lynn, a STEM teacher at Roosevelt and the faculty advisor for the school’s garden club, these two days were when the space really began to come together! The 8th grade students worked to build garden beds, transport soil from the parking lot to the garden, and plant fruits, vegetables, and herbs in the raised beds and grow bags. Roosevelt’s after-school garden club began to hold weekly meetings in April.
A visit to the school on a Friday afternoon in late May showed that the months of planning and execution were already paying off in the form of vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, and flowers springing to life in every corner of the garden. A small group of students started to gather for the garden club, joining Ms. Lynn, Jenny, and Alec. While waiting for other students to make their way out of the school building, the group enjoyed a healthy, in-season snack of fresh strawberries.
Today’s garden club was exciting, since many of the seedlings had grown large enough to harvest small amounts from. Students were able to explore the garden, smelling and tasting herbs, picking small kale leaves for a salad, and learning how to prune cucumber and tomato plants to ensure a good harvest later in the season. The group did some weeding, even sampling lamb’s quarter; an edible “weed” that had begun growing in the garden.
Some of the new students were hesitant to enter the garden, but their curiosity won them over and soon they were learning about all the plants the garden had to offer. Seeing favorite foods growing sparked connections in many of the students. They discovered, to their excitement, that both dill and cucumbers were growing in the garden, meaning that eventually they’d be able to have homemade pickles! The garden club also introduced the group to less familiar produce, from sorrel leaves (which had an unexpected, sour flavor!) to a fig tree, which students learned to identify from the distinctive leaf shape.
Every student was willing to pick and try fresh produce from the garden, showing just how powerful a tool gardening is for building healthy habits. Digging, weeding, watering, and planting are all great ways to add extra movement into students’ days.
While this year’s gardening season is already well underway, it’s never too early to begin planning next year’s garden! EAT RIGHT PHILLY can assist with gardening supplies, as well as teach students how to grow and cook fresh produce.
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