We have been working in the garden this week! The kids have harvested green peppers and green beans. There are several pumpkins growing, onions and the eggplants are finally starting to grow fruit.

We also started working on the garden mural wall using Elsie Winter's design! We hope to plant some cool weather crops in the next couple of weeks, so we can harvest lettuce and radish before frost.

The garden beds have been planted and the water system has been completed! Now to watch all the plants grow.

We hope to work on the mural project during STEAM camp in August and possibly add some outdoor tables to the space.

Beds are filled and getting close to planting! Mr. Lien is working on hooking up the water system. Classes will begin planting next week. A big shoutout to Morrow County Grain Growers for donating a pallet of soil and to the Heppner FFA for donating veggies.

The 4th grade class worked hard this week putting together the raised garden beds! Next step soil, water set up and planting!

Thanks to Mr. Lien we have the gravel bed area ready for the raised beds, which came about a month ago. Now we are waiting for a bit warmer weather to get everything set up. We plan to paint a small mural on the concrete wall near the doors, as well as some possible woven art on the fence. We hope to use the storage container for another possible mural in the future.

We are currently waiting for the weather to warm up and then we will place our raised garden beds. So far the area has been cleared, gravel has been laid and the area is ready to begin placing beds and furniture.

Action plan:
Timeline: We plan to start our project in September of 2023. The plot will be cleared, weed barrier will be laid and gravel will be installed. Over the course of the next several months we will add raised beds, tables and storage. We will meet as needed throughout the school year. Our goal is to have the garden functioning as a learning and growing space by April of 2024.
Budget: We plan to spend around $1,000 on preparation and ground cover. We will spend around $800 on raised beds and drip line. We will spend an additional $1,000 on outdoor tables and whiteboards for teaching. Another $1,000 will be spent on soil, plants and tools.
This will be a project ran by and for HES students. The space will be a learning hub for K-6 students in our community. Teacher's will be able to use the space as an outdoor classroom to teach plant science, biology, art, etc. We will also invite community volunteers to teach and help care for the garden. Some of the produce may go to the local food bank when students are not in school to benefit from it.
Measurable goals:
Garden foundation complete by end of September 2023.
Raised beds, tables, water lines, and soil installed by April 1st 2024.
Garden planted and space being fully utilized by May 2024.
Harvest Party with students September of 2024.

There are about 200 students who will benefit, as well as teachers, staff and community volunteers.

We will promote the project through the school's social media as well as the STEAM facebook page, and the local paper.

The space we will be using has already been set aside as a garden space with the proper permissions granted.