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Elementary garden, outdoor-learning pilot wins grant; program expands farm-to-table and mindfulness lessons
Summary
The district's pilot garden-based learning and 'Active Learning in Outdoor Spaces' program supplied student-grown produce to cafeterias, won recognition and a Guinness World Record mention, and secured a three-year Healthy Communities Action Teams grant of $40,000 per year to expand taste tests, lessons, and family engagement.
Rappahannock County27s pilot garden-based learning and active outdoor classes concluded a successful first year and will expand after winning a three-year Healthy Communities Action Teams grant.
Holly Jenkins, presenting the Commit to Be Fit (C2BF) update, said the pilot produced 14 new garden beds, "20 varieties of fruits and veggies," and included a hydroponic tower garden and student-grown produce the cafeteria used for meals. Jenkins said the program also won a VSBA showcase recognition and noted a lighthearted highlight: a Guinness World Record hanging in the elementary school for "most peppers grown on a single plant." (Holly Jenkins)
Jenkins announced the HCAT (Healthy Communities Action Teams) award from the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth: a three-year grant at $40,000 per year to expand student taste-testing, nutrition education push-ins, grade-level garden beds, professional development for staff, and family engagement workshops. "Year one is planting the seeds," she said, outlining plans for student engagement, nutrition lessons and tracking student movement in outdoor classes pending parental permission.
The program aims to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, mindfulness and movement, and to pair older and younger students as mentors. Jenkins said the pilot supplied onions and radishes to the cafeteria and that students are more likely to try foods they helped grow. The board thanked Jenkins and partners (the Path Foundation and Headwaters Foundation) and discussed opportunities to scale the courtyard model to the high school if additional funding is secured.
Next steps: staff will proceed with grant-funded activities, finalize consent forms for activity tracking, and develop family workshops and a lesson database for broader teacher access.
