{"id":17565,"date":"2021-06-22T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=17565"},"modified":"2021-06-03T12:56:08","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T16:56:08","slug":"how-to-start-a-charity-garden-at-your-local-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2021\/06\/22\/how-to-start-a-charity-garden-at-your-local-school\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Start a Charity Garden at Your Local School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Julia Comino, The Vegetarian Resource Group Intern<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A small, overgrown green island floating\nin an ocean of black asphalt. That was the humble beginnings of my Charity\nGarden. And inside the grass-lot, was me, soiled and sweaty absolutely not\nunderstanding what I had gotten myself into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nWhen I first embarked on my journey of founding a charity garden at my high\nschool, in all honesty, I had no idea what I was doing. My limited gardening\nknowledge consisted of quite a few deceased succulents that sadly did not\nsurvive my horticultural attempts. However, after putting two years of work\ninto creating the Charity Garden at my school, I can confidently offer you a\nfew pieces of advice as you begin your quest to create a charity garden. In\norder to be successful in this mission, you have to consider who, what, when,\nwhere, and how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nThink about whose permission and help you will need; what materials,\nknowledge, and funding you will require; when you will prepare, plant, and harvest\nthe produce you will grow; where your garden will be located; and finally how\nyou will accomplish your goal of creating a functioning charity garden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on your high school\u2019s policy,\nwho you will need to receive permission from to begin this garden and how you\nmust go about forming a club or organization may differ. For me, a student at a\nprivate school with a student body of just under 300 in the upper class, who I\nneeded to ask was clear and simple. I first asked one of my teachers who doubled\nas my Speech and Debate coach if she would be willing to be the teacher sponsor\nof my club, which, lucky for me, she was, and then I moved on to ask my\nschool\u2019s principal. However, if you attend a public or larger high school, you\nmay need to do some more digging to find out who you need to ask. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nBefore you speak to the individual or individuals you will need to ask\npermission of, you first need to create a basic plan for your project. In my\ncase, I admit, I possibly went overboard when it came to this part of the\nprocess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nArmed with a trifold poster presentation I spent a few too many hours\ncrafting, I walked into my principal\u2019s office the summer before my junior year\nconfidently and ready to persuade my principal to my plan. The presentation\ncovered everything that I naively thought would need to be done to begin my\ngarden. There was a section dedicated to the budget this environmental club and\ncharity garden would require for that school year, a whole side of the poster\nhosting a sketch of the area in which the garden would be located, and a\ntimeline of the creation process along the bottom of the poster. With my\npresentation so well-crafted and executed articulately, my principal agreed to\nallow me to turn my plan into a reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As put together as my pitch was the\nactual creation of my charity garden was in no way as perfectly or easily done.\nThe \u201cwhat\u201d phase is where I initially went wrong. While no amount of\nforethought can allow you to escape the inconsistencies of the reality of\nmaking an idea tangible, you can save yourself some strife by working to plan\nahead as much as possible. I recommend sitting down and writing out every\nsingle necessary item that comes to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nConsider what needs that you already have met without any planning.\nMaybe your school already has a sprinkler system or hose that you can use\nwithout purchasing or planning for another water source. Test the pH of your\nsoil to see if you will have to buy products to make it more viable. Ask around\nand see if there are any gardeners who are willing to donate supplies such as\nsoil, gardening tools, or seeds for your organization to use or if they would\nbe willing to help you by working in the garden. After all, you never know the\nextent of others\u2019 generosity until you ask. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nHowever, I found that you do not need to use store-bought tools or\ngardening supplies to begin this garden. To cut back on waste production,\nrepurposing items can be an environmentally and economically friendly choice.\nFor planter beds, I recycled old wood pallets by stapling a mesh bottom to the\nbottom boards and then filling the slots with soil and mulch. Cans, milk jugs,\nand bottles can be used as temporary planters. Should you be hoping to create\nan aesthetically pleasing garden, you can host events where students at your\nschool can paint and decorate your make-shift planters using eco-friendly\nmaterials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nBeyond the materials you will need, you also must consider what\nknowledge you will need to build and care for this garden. Personally, I have\nnever had a green thumb, and when I founded the Environmental Club and Charity\nGarden at my school my fervent passion surrounding climate justice clouded my\njudgment around how my lack of gardening experience would affect this process.\nI have fond childhood memories of spreading almond-shaped, white pumpkin seeds\nin the corner of my yard that I had designated \u201cJulia\u2019s Garden\u201d as my mother\ntended to her real garden. However, had I chosen to reminisce on these times\nwith more candor, these childish fantasies would have dissipated with the\nrealization that not one of these seeds ever prospered under my careless\ncultivation. The fruitlessness of my prior pumpkin planting should have\nforewarned my Charity Garden\u2019s tragic pumpkin patch incident. An unusually\nearly frost paired with a lack of pollinating insects and my insufficient\ngardening knowledge left these sad seedlings withered and barren by the time\nharvest came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nLearn from my pumpkin planting woes, and do yourself a favor by picking\nup a Farmer\u2019s Almanac, checking out gardening forums and blogs online, or\nseeking advice from farmers in your area. What supplies you gather and buy can\nbe just as important as what knowledge you acquire when it comes to being a\nbeginner gardener. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timing is important, not only with when\nyou plan to plant certain types of seeds but also with the timeline for when\nyou hope to complete your garden. Be generous with how long you give yourself\nto create a garden space. While a desire to get your garden up and running as\nsoon as possible is a great mindset to have, you also must be realistic with\nhow this project will fit into your and others\u2019 schedules. In my case, the\ncreation of the Charity Garden at my high school was an extension of the\nEnvironmental Club I founded. This meant that I had a group of passionate\nindividuals who were invested in creating this garden with me. I advise seeking\nout your own team of people who want to create a garden as much as you do. This\nwill not only allow you to get work done quicker, but it will also help you\nremain invested and held accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nOnce you have created a basic timeline for when you want to have\ndifferent portions of this project done, remember to allow yourself\nflexibility, both with time and financially. Fundraising was what the majority\nof my early work in creating my garden consisted of. When creating your\nschedule, factor in the amount of time you will spend raising money to afford\nsupplies you will need. Host bake sales, car washes, have a donation jar, or\neven sell merchandise to raise funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nWhen it comes time to begin sowing seeds in your garden, make sure the\nplants you are growing match the season that you are in. It is easy to do a\nquick google search to find out when it is best to begin growing certain\nplants, and when these plants will be ready for harvest. Remember, you are on\nnature\u2019s time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deciding where your garden will be hosted\nis what\u2019s next on the to-do list. It is important to be logically resourceful\nwith this decision as well as willing to allow your imagination to turn what\nmay seem to be a plot devoid of any life into the flourishing garden in your\nmind\u2019s eye. In my case, I turned my fanciful gaze onto an overgrown grass plot\nsurrounded by a crumbling metal fence in the middle of my school parking lot. While\nat first glance, this plot seemed barely habitable, with its proximity to a\nworking hose and with the offering of soil in an otherwise asphalt covered\nspace, I found the area would be just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nLook at your own campus. An accessible rooftop could host a cluster of\nraised planting beds or a patch of grass that is not in use could be\ntransformed into a blossoming garden space. Your only limit is your\nimagination. However, of course, you still must be practical. Make sure that\nthe location you choose is one that is close to a water source, receives enough\nsunlight, and matches the needs of the plants you wish to grow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nWhen you choose your space, analyze what work needs to be done to first\ntransform the area into a functional garden, but also what work will be needed\nto maintain the area. In the case of my garden, the grass lot I chose had not\nbeen used in almost a decade. Not only was the entire plot infested by weeds,\nbut a large limb of an old oak tree loomed over half the space cascading it in\nshade. This was not ideal for a garden. So I had to find someone who had the\nability to trim back this branch as well as cut down the weeds overrunning the\narea. As part of this process, you must learn how to be your own advocate. When\nasking for others\u2019 help you need to be able to persuade them into believing\nthat the cause they would be helping is worth their time. Luckily, the school\u2019s\ngardener was fond of my plan to reinvent this previously empty lot and had no\nissue with sprucing up the space during his normal care of the campus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you have completed all of this\nplanning, this is where it gets fun! You are ready to start planting. Schedule\nevents for your club or members of your school to come out and get their hands\ndirty, planting your new garden. Follow a plan for where each plant should be\nlocated within the garden giving special consideration for each seedling\u2019s\nsunlight needs. For some plants, you may find that starting them in seed\nstarter trays is the best practice. These trays, while can be bought in stores,\ncan also be made out of old juice boxes or even cardboard boxes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nAfter all your seedlings are in the ground, now you are just doing\nmaintenance and care. Weeding, watering, and looking after your vegetation can\nbe tedious, but with patience and hard work, you will be ready for your first\nharvest. But before you can reap the produce of your labor, you need to plan\nhow you are going to disperse what you have grown with those in need. Working\nin accordance with any outreach protocols your school has, you can now find out\nhow you can best give out your garden\u2019s produce. Reach out to local food\npantries or shelters for those with complex living situations to see if\nanywhere would be interested in receiving fresh produce donations. Work with\nschool officials to see if allowing those in need to come into the garden to\ntake what they need would be a possibility. See if your city has community\nfridges you can stock. Or maybe even plan events at public centers in which you\ncan set up stands to give out your produce. There are so many ways in which you\ncan share the fruits of your labor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nNo matter if you have a green thumb or if, like me, you are new to the\nbusiness of gardening, you can successfully create a Charity Garden with a\nlittle planning and a lot of passion. While even I may still be learning how to\ngarden as I go, I have discovered that with enough dedication, and with getting\nmy hands a little dirty, I can cultivate my dreams into fruition, and you can\ntoo!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may also be interested in veganic gardening and farming articles found here: https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/links\/#veganic-farming<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Julia Comino, The Vegetarian Resource Group Intern A small, overgrown green island floating in an ocean of black asphalt. That was the humble beginnings of my Charity Garden. And inside the grass-lot, was me, soiled and sweaty absolutely not understanding what I had gotten myself into.      When I first embarked on my journey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17567,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17565\/revisions\/17567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}