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Marcellus ag teachers propose community garden with Cornell Cooperative Extension grant
Summary
Marcellus ag teachers outlined a phased community garden plan backed by a Cornell Cooperative Extension grant to serve classroom, cafeteria and community needs; volunteers will staff summer hours, produce would feed the cafeteria and excess donated to the food pantry, and Cornell Extension will provide educational support.
Joe Killian, Caitlin Eaton and Jenny Stratton, the three teachers who operate Marcellus Central School District's agricultural program, presented a proposal to the board on March 23 to build a community garden on the district's new ag facility and orchard.
The team said Tom Cross of Cornell Cooperative Extension offered grant funding tied to a “classroom, cafeteria and community” model: students would build raised beds and grow produce for school meals, the cafeteria would pilot a monthly “harvest of the month,” and volunteers would support maintenance during scheduled summer hours while excess harvest would be donated to the local food pantry. “We want this to be a learning hub not just for our students, but also for the community,” Killian said.
District presenters described a phased design: four raised beds to start, stone pathways and an unassembled high tunnel to lengthen the growing season, accessible beds at varying heights, and a composting plan. They credited an eighth‑grade student project (Ella and Mason Haaks) for an initial design and said local partners including Beak and Skiff Orchards and Slate Hill Edible Farm are supporting demonstrations such as apple pressing.
The presenters said Cornell Cooperative Extension has proposed educators and master gardeners to run workshops and that the grant includes elements to pay for infrastructure; however, staffing for supervised summer hours is a gap for summer 2026. The district said Cornell Cooperative Extension has included a contractor line in a later grant that could fund a paid district staff member starting in summer 2027, but the team said the district needs an interim staffing plan or other funding to operate the garden this coming season.
Board members asked about frequency of community access, composting cafeteria food waste, and curriculum development. Presenters said the garden will not be open‑access: it will operate during scheduled, staffed hours so students can control plantings aligned to cafeteria needs. They said composting options and potential grants for equipment are under investigation and that a curriculum is being developed for K–12 and UPK integration.
Next steps: presenters requested board support to pursue the Extension grant and to help identify a short‑term staffing solution for summer 2026. The board did not take an immediate vote; the proposal will return for follow up once staffing and funding details are clearer.
