Inside Bay Area San Francisco area, California, US Feb 2, 07
OSH to nurture school garden Donations from hardware store will go to Tracy's Freiler School TRACY ? A little corporate support could help fertilize the Freiler School Community Garden. In addition to the school's students and numerous parent volunteers who work on the year-round project, Orchard Supply Hardware has chosen Freiler as one of two San Joaquin County sites for a special community garden partnership. The Freiler garden was established more than two years ago by science teacher Khushwinder Gill, who wanted to give students a hands-on academic project that would also benefit the community. More than 400 students from kindergarten through the eighth grade have used the extensive garden and greenhouse to study, research and grow vegetables and flowers throughout the entire school year. After the students have completed the academic aspect of their work, the vegetables are donated to local homeless shelters. In celebration of Orchard Supply Hardware's 75th anniversary, the chain started a program through which each OSH store partners with a selected local school and donates, "up to $1,000 in supplies, plants, tools and other materials, as well as gardening expertise, to help create and maintain the gardens." According to OSH, Freiler was one of two county schools selected based on, "the strength of its school garden curriculum, its schoolwide commitment to develop and use the garden," as well as its "plan to sustain the garden as a valuable educational tool and the broad involvement of students and staff in the program." OSH also is encouraging Freiler to pursue California Assembly Bill 1535, which appropriates $15 million in the state budget for instructional school gardens. "The goals of both the OSH School Gardens Program and the state's new bill are similar and can be leveraged to help provide and sustain school gardens as a powerful instructional tool," said OSH President Rob Lynch in a prepared statement. In addition to the OSH funds, the Freiler Garden also was recently awarded one of the state's highest academic honors, the California School Board Association's Golden Bell Award. For more information about the Freiler garden, contact the school at (209) 831-5170.
