Washington School Students Experience the Garden State

This week, Washington School students were able to begin experiencing spring in the school’s outdoor garden. 

The Washington School Garden was started four years ago by parent volunteer (and master gardener) Lorraine Mormile, with the support of principal Andy Perry, who allowed Mormile to select the outdoor space and work with the teachers. The Washington School Garden offers the school’s students a unique opportunity to learn about nature in a hands-on way. In grade-appropriate lessons taught with students and teachers outside in the garden, Mormile teaches about basic botany, entomology, composting, soil science, and more. She does what she can to make the lessons fun for the kids (she even ends by giving students a “farmer’s handshake” - a bit of dirt in the hand!)

This spring, students have begun harvesting rhubarb (which they brought home, along with a kid-friendly recipe). Washington School 2nd grader Joey Tortorella was in the garden with his class this week and says, “It was fun to be able to pull out my own rhubarb plant. Mrs. Mormile showed us that you have to cut off the poisonous leaves before we could bring the rhubarb home to eat.”

Before the end of the school year, classes will plant the crops (including potatoes, pumpkins, peppers, carrots and more) that will be harvested in the fall. In addition, students have planted native wildflowers and herbs in the garden. The garden is unique in that the children have the opportunity to grow and harvest their own food crops, which they take home to eat; this is also the aspect of the garden that is most popular with the kids.

Why a garden for the students? “I wanted to bring a garden to Washington School for the children,” says Mormile. “I noticed the only contact most kids have with nature is while playing sports on turf or mulch-covered playgrounds. We live very professionally landscaped lives and a lot of the children do not have contact with tending their own home gardens anymore. The classroom was a way to get the kids playing in the dirt while learning all of the lessons a garden can teach.”

Mormile continues, “The children hear a lot about ‘going green,’ but they really get the concept when they are actively participating in creating a garden and talking about things like where our food comes from, composting, and what it means when something is organic. The children have a great time being ‘soil scientists’ and digging for earthworms. My hope is that this garden will always be a part of the school and will be ever changing in the lessons it teaches by continually changing the look of the school’s outdoor classroom and what's growing in it!”

Mormile’s lessons are linked to what the kids are learning in the classroom, and parts of the garden are even related to books they read. The garden has a “Fancy Nancy” inspired butterfly garden, and a “Diary of a Worm” digging section. The teachers enjoy being able to bring their students outside and tie the garden into their curriculum. Mike Burgess, a Washington School 4th grade teacher, says, “My class has had the opportunity to use the garden for several years now. It has tied in well with our curriculum and has been a great addition to Washington School!"

A small percentage of the Washington School garden is supported with funds from the PTO, but it is largely run thanks to generous donations of supplies from Bartell Farm and Garden Supply, Dreyer Farms and Williams Nursery, as well as a monetary donation from the Rake and Hoe Garden Club of Westfield.