Norwich Students Kaylee Fowlston and Joseph Towndrow with Teacher Linda Canfield as they eat salad prepared with vegetables they grew in the garden. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH – Norwich City Schools and the Chenango Health Network are working together on establishing a program of after-school gardening clubs in order to teach children how to grow their own fruits and vegetables.

“Fresh vegetables help our children to grow and help them learn about continuing good health habits into the future. School gardens are a fun and innovative way for students to get involved with the production of their own food,” said Dr. Yusuf Harper, a driving force behind the garden project.

The programs will initially be at the Middle School, under Principal Sean Woods’ guidance, and will hopefully progress into Norwich’s other educational programs.

“It all can be found in the garden. There is literally no class or student at any level for whom the garden does not offer significant lessons; be it math, language, history, biology, sociology, art or physics. To be a gardener one must become a student,” stated Harper.

“So, it is no surprise our students are natural gardeners. Gardens cannot be assembled like a car, but they can be facilitated like a choir, where the cacophony of many different voices through nurturing, positioning, training, selecting, and quiet patience becomes music,” he said.

The Healthy Gardens Project is a coalition of community organizations, volunteers, and Norwich City Schools, consisting of Dr. Harper, the Chenango Health Network, and the Chenango County Cornell Cooperative Extension.

“We have partnered with Norwich City Schools Administration and staff to engage our students, in creating a fun program learning about, growing, maintaining, and harvesting gardens filled with delicious fruits and vegetables as well as teaching students and staff recipes to create with their self-grown food,” said Harper.

Wood added, “The most exciting thing about the food to table idea is that it creates so many authentic learning experiences and opportunities.  It requires a great deal of commitment and dedication to care for and tend to a living and growing plant from its infancy to the time it can be harvested.The possibilities are endless and really hinge on the efforts and creativity of those involved in the entire experience.”

Wood said the project could be incredibly beneficial to students and he cannot wait to see the outcome.

“Though slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have persisted, and recently won a USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) ‘Farm to School’ Grant for our project. This will help accelerate and promote our progress. The school staff and kids had a sneak peak of this project at the end of the school year, and now have expectations of getting back into the dirt, picking their own foods, and creating nutritious but delicious recipes with their items,” Wood said.

The goal for this project is to not only teach the students and staff at Norwich City Schools about healthy food habits but to bring in and teach the community as well.

Harper stated, “Gardening is for students of all ages and backgrounds, and should be useful as well as accessible for every walk of living. Our plan is to build raised garden beds, teach children how to plant, water, maintain, and harvest their own fruits and vegetables. We are also looking into adding flowers into the growing mix! If this project interest you and you would like to volunteer, please contact us.”

Organizers of the project would like to thank the sponsors: Superintendent Scott Ryan; Middle School Principal Sean Wood; Curtis Lumber; Burrell’s Excavating; Rural Health Network of SCNY; Chenango Co Cornell Cooperative Extension; Norwich Meadows Farm LLC; and teachers: Robin Buchman; Linda Canfield; and thank you to Tori Giglio, Kristen Fox, Catherine Carpenter.

– From MiKayla Jones and Dr. Yusuf Harper, Chenango Health Network