In an effort to engage students in interesting, hands-on learning experiences, Trout Creek School students have come together to build a school garden. Students broke ground last Friday morning and started planting away. "There is a need in the community for fresh produce and it's a great opportunity for the kids to learn about composting, photosynthesis and hard work," said school nurse and school garden volunteer Alicia Myers. "We are trying to get the community involved. The more things we can do to bring the community together, the better off the school is going to be."

The morning started with the school's early kinder preschool class who got to plant some mini pumpkin seeds. They were taught about the four components seeds need in order to grow in which the students replied, water, light, oxygen and heat. "We want the students to see that hard work pays off because they're going to see the fruits of their labor," Myers said. "My goal is to get some apple trees planted, then strawberries and blueberries at the end of May. We will also grow and dry herbs to use in the school's kitchen. Potatoes will be easy to grow. When it's time to dig those up, the kids are going to love doing that."

Each class came outside, starting with kindergarten, to get their hands in the dirt. Each student was given two seeds to plant in a saved milk carton that was filled with soil. Kindergarten students planted pumpkin seeds, grades 1-2 planted cucumbers and grades 3-8 were given a variety of squash seeds to plant, including butternut and spaghetti squash seeds.

"This whole idea started when we experienced shipping and supply issues," said superintendent Preston Wenz. "Our cook couldn't get any carrots in." The work on the garden started last fall when the school cleared a patch of land out in the field big enough for a garden that will end up being around 40 yards long.

Wenz says the students will be incorporating a vermicomposting style into the school garden. Vermicomposting is a process using red worms that feed on a mixture of food leftover from school lunches. The end product broken down by the red worms will be used as fertilizer. The compost bins that house the red worms will be maintained closely by each class on a weekly basis.

"If things go well, we want to head to the farmers market and tie that aspect into this so the students get to learn how to sell their produce," Wenz said. "This is hands-on learning. That's what we're big on here, having these life lessons tie into academics."