Thermo Fisher Scientific, a Grand Island based company, once again donated supplies and labor to add another three raised beds in which Kaegebein students can grow plants, learn about the plant cycle and how food is grown. Fifth graders participated in the project and helped build the beds and plant seeds for various flowers and vegetables. Students also painted tiles that will be used as stepping stones and a decoration for the beds. We are very fortunate to have such a generous company on the Island that supports education and project based learning! Fun was had by everyone!
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This past spring we began an exciting new project in the courtyard- a pollinator/butterfly garden! Through a grant from Lowe's and funding from Fish and Wildlife we broke ground on the garden in early May. We cut sod out of a 50 X 50 foot space and the fifth graders from Mrs. Zahradnik, Mr. Pikula and Mrs. Nesselbeck's class created a design for the garden. It included garden beds and paths so that students can walk through the garden and observe the wildlife. We then added 22 yards of soil in the beds and edged the paths. Thanks to all the fifth graders and some dedicated parents and teachers we got all the soil wheeled into the courtyard in about 5 hours! The garden is a work in progress and will continue to evolve over the Summer and Fall. A big thank you to everyone who helped out!
We have a giant sunflower in the garden! No one planted the seed- it just grew there! Who can tell me how it might have gotten there? The bees love the sunflowers! Perhaps we can save the seeds for next year! The harvesting continues and the staff at the school has loved receiving fresh produce for their dinners! When you come back to school make sure you take a peek at the garden.
Lettuce! This lettuce went home with Mrs. Pizur in the office. She couldn't wait to make salad! I will be planting more lettuce as this lettuce gets harvested so there will be fresh lettuce when school starts! We must have at least 30 cucumbers growing on the vines! They will be ready to pick in a few weeks. I harvested green beans, snap peas and two squash! The squash was a surprise because I thought it was zucchini but it turned out to be a yellow squash!
Our first beans! Zucchini squash flower with the start of a zucchini.The yellow flowers will become tomatoes! Future cucumber! The carrots are finally growing. They took a long time!
Our lettuce is growing well in the cooler weather conditions! Soon the heads will be mature enough to eat. The tomato plants have grown about 8 inches in the past week and are beginning to flower. The squash plants are gigantic! Soon they will flower and hopefully the bees will pollinate the flowers and there will be squash in September! The beans have flowers and soon the green beans will start to grow! The cucumbers are taking over this part of the garden! No cucumbers yet but there are lots of buds on the plants! They are in the back behind the tomatoes.
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Kaegebein Courtyard BlogThroughout the summer, Mrs. Gorfien will be sharing photos and updates for the Kaegebein Courtyard Project. Archives
November 2017
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