All of us here at Rose Rock are honored to have received a grant from the Department of Environmental Quality. The school has generously been granted $1, 000 for a gardening project, wherein raised beds will be built in the children’s outdoor play space. Along with the Department of Environmental Quality, our gratitude goes out to Kelly Dillow, a Rose Rock parent on the Garden Committee, who helped with the process of seeking the grant.
Rose Rock children spend time outdoors everyday, with few exceptions. Part of their outdoor experience is gardening and helping to grow and care for food that they later eat. By utilizing the garden space, the children improve their physical and emotional development through caring for the soil and plants. The children’s time spent in the garden also fosters the development of love and respect for the environment and an intuitive understanding of the natural world and its cycles.
Once the gardens are established, we look forward to holding workshops for the greater community. Future workshops will educate about composting, vermiculture, seasonal menu planning, and gardening with children. The parents and teachers at Rose Rock highly value ecological stewardship and community service. Receiving this grant enables us to put both of these values into practice, and we are so grateful.
