ACCS set to reopen school garden on Earth Day 2021
The ACCS community is thrilled to reopen their community garden on Earth Day (April 22, 2021) and move forward to tasting some amazing vegetables.
In 2018, Atlantic Community Charter School was awarded a generous grant from the AtlantiCare Healthy School Program. With this grant, the school was able to create a vegetable garden. The garden serves as a space for rich student-directed outdoor STEM learning, provides increased access to healthy foods, and has helped improve student and school morale. The garden is a natural place to teach our students about character and culturally responsive growth mindset.
Atlantic Community Charter School was able to purchase five raised gardening beds to which introduced gardening to our students. On 8/7/2018 the first edible tomatoes were picked from the garden. Since then, the produce has been sufficiently grown to be eaten by various students and staff.
In 2019, the school was awarded an additional grant from Atlanticare which allowed for expansion. The garden has now expanded onto our property in a sectioned piece of land. Our garden has since produced cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the garden has taken a hit due to students’ inability to be on school premises. Since being back on campus, students have worked hard towards the grand opening on Earth Day, April 22, 2021. Our students have started planting their seeds in the classroom and are ready to be transferred into the raised beds and ground.
