Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Gardens topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rockport committee reviews new pollinator and vegetable gardens; fence cost remains unresolved
Summary
The Rockport School Committee reviewed a plan developed with the Rockport Garden Club to install a pollinator garden and raised beds, supported by volunteers, Town Green grant funds for mulch/soil, and DPW assistance; a safety fence for the pre‑K garden is required and estimated at roughly $9,000 but not yet funded.
Jody (director of teaching and learning) described a multi‑site educational gardens project created with the Rockport Garden Club and volunteers, including a pollinator garden outside the superintendent’s office and raised beds on the former pre‑K playground. “I wanna give just props to Mary Morby from the Rockport Garden Club because she has spearheaded this. She is amazing,” Jody said.
The plan calls for curricular links across K–12 (science, health and SEL), student planting activities and volunteer maintenance in summer. The garden club has donated raised beds, tubers and fencing wire; a Town Green sustainability grant will pay for mulch and soil. DPW staff will relocate storage containers, assist with tree work, move a shed and install a locked spigot near the pollinator garden to provide irrigation.
Committee members emphasized safety and long‑term maintenance. The committee heard that a fence around the pre‑K garden is required because of nearby traffic; Jody said the fence “could be around 9,000 ish” and that ordering would likely happen after May while staff seek grant or wellness‑advisory funds. Volunteers have scheduled two Saturdays to build and plant initial beds, and staff expect fall vegetable harvests to be used in health classes.
No formal funding vote on the fence occurred at this meeting; the committee and staff will pursue internal budget options and outside grants and will update the committee before procurement.
