Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Calvin Coolidge Elementary highlighted for $10,000 community garden grant
Summary
Calvin Coolidge Elementary principal Kelly Bell told the Binghamton City School District board the school used a roughly $10,000 urban-farm grant to build towers and beds, engage students in hands-on learning and distribute surplus produce to local pantries and families.
Calvin Coolidge Elementary principal Kelly Bell told the Binghamton City School District Board of Education that the school used a roughly $10,000 urban-farm grant to establish a community garden that doubled as a classroom resource.
"We were awarded $10,000, a little more than $10,000 to get it started," Bell said, describing how staff, students and volunteers built three raised beds and used indoor garden towers to start plants for later transplanting. Teachers, pre-K aides and student clubs participated in planting, maintenance and harvest distribution.
Bell credited community partners for support, saying Vines Community Gardens and Cornell Cooperative Extension helped with initial planning and seed/plant replacements, and Fairview Methodist Church and a local blessing box accepted surplus produce. She said students took home vegetables to their families and volunteers used harvests for community giveaways.
The principal said the program emphasized health and nutrition alongside hands-on science: "The kids enjoyed it" and staff will expand student involvement next year, including year-round tower-grown greens during winter. Bell said the school aims to continue partnerships and increase student-led planting when buildings reopen for summer programs.
The board thanked school staff for the presentation and moved on to other agenda items.
