Friday's meeting (October 5th) was very productive thanks to all who attended. We are fortunate to have an SDCCS Parent who is a Landscaper, and another parent who is a Landscape Architect, both who have offered us great planning advice and resources. With their help and others we are well on our way in our planning.
We spent much of the meeting discussing how Saturday,Oct. 20th's first
Big Work Day will look like. The Kinder Area (yet to be named) will be roto-tilled, the soil amended, perhaps weed cloth laid down and cobble stone beds laid out. We also started thinking about what type of irrigation system to use.
As for the other Garden (yet to be named) for Grades 3 through 8, which will be located between the two play structures towards the back of larger playground, we have decided to build raised beds despite the warning that it is difficult to plant under eucalyptus trees. We figure we will give it a try this year because we are not sure what is happening with the blacktop and don't want to be in the way of progress there. We feel very strongly about having all grades having a space to plant in ! We decided we would build the raised beds so that they are movable.
We are also working on detailed drawings of these spaces, and will post them when they are done, that way our community will have a better understanding of the spaces we are going to utilize and how wonderful they will be !
Another question discussed, concerned the passion vines (these will be planted along the fences). How many should be planted and where? We know that in one year passion vines planted 5 feet apart make a solid wall of green...so maybe we'll plant them 10 feet apart and be a bit patient while saving money! Not only will we have passion fruit to make juice out of, but we will have lots of beautiful Butterfly's surrounding our space next spring.
It was great having Mr. Plapp and Dmitry at the meeting...bringing the teacher/kid perspective to our plans, that's really what this is all about! It was helpful to hear their ideas about shade and layout. We can't wait to get more feedback and wish lists from our teachers!
We are also thankful to have Parents who are Carpenters Volunteering their time. We have plenty of raised planting beds, benches, trellises, & fences, that will need building. We are always looking for more help in this area.
As for donations, the "Thank You" list on the left side of our blog will be updated regularly to keep everyone informed about all the great donations we've received. So far, we've been given a nice amount of soil from Walter Anderson Nursery and there is more coming from
The City Farmer Nursery . In addition, we were gifted trowels and money to spend from the nearest Home Depot on Genessee & Balboa, and an SDCCS family's business gave us a wheel barrow. Big thanks to all !!
We invite ALL of you in the SDCCS community to join in our ongoing efforts to make our school GREEN and GROWING!
