Northside Elementary starts a growing tradition

SANDPOINT — Friday’s salad got rave reviews at Northside Elementary.

After all, the lettuce came from their garden, tucked between one of the school’s portables, the fence and the playground. And this produce was kid-grown, courtesy of the school’s new Garden Club.

“I had kids coming up to me after lunch and saying they didn’t like veggies, but THESE they loved,” said Michele Murphree, one of three organizers of what’s now the coolest club in school.

The club has its roots in conversations between Murphree, Gail Burkett and Diane Green. The trio had worried for years that the connection between farms growing food and what students saw at lunch or dinner was lost. They had talked one to the other that “wouldn’t it be nice” if something could be done.

“We thought a club would be a great way to show kids how food grows and how it relates to what is on their plate,” Murphree said.

Finally, the trio came together, brain-stormed ideas and approached Lake Pend Oreille School District officials with the idea for a garden club. They got the green light and learned that, as long as produce was grown organically, it could even be used as part of the students’ lunch.

The trio received a $600 Community Assistance League grant,  an $842 grant from Panhandle Alliance For Education and $1,000 from Panhandle State Bank. That allowed the group to buy gloves and assorted garden supplies and seeds, build a hoophouse, two compost bins and two raised beds.

The club is the first of its kind in the district, where the students plant, grow and harvest the garden. Other schools have already contacted Northside, interested in creating similar clubs next year.

The club members — totaling more than 36 students — gather every Monday after school for an hour. The first few meetings were spent learning about gardening, what is involved, climates and micro-climates and different gardening techniques.

Then, the group planted seeds in pots — lettuce, carrots, onions, leeks, peas and more. Later, 10 blueberry bushes donated by a parent were planted, mixed in with the school’s perennial garden bordering a half-dozen picnic tables.

Soon, every window in the school boasted a container. It wasn’t long before excited whispers echoed in the hallways and classrooms as tiny seedlings poked through the soil.

The students are having a blast.

Ronnie Korn, Max Edmundson and Calli Laybourne said they joined the club in part because their families already have gardens and they thought it would be fun to do their own garden at school.

“I think it’s fun to learn how to plant things,” Korn said.

Edmundson agreed, saying he wanted to learn how to garden on his own and be able to take what he learned and put it into practice at home.

At first, friends would occasionally tease them about being in the Garden Club. That changed as soon as the seedlings began poking out of the soil.

“Everyone was checking on them,” Laybourne said. “They changed so much so quickly. Everyone wanted to see what was going on.”

Now, it seems like everyone wants to join the Garden Club, the trio said.

“My sister’s into gardening and wants to join the club,” Korn said.

The club is growing camaraderie between the grades and between members of the club and other students. With lettuce growing like crazy, beans winding their way up the chain link fence and tomato vines starting to grow in pots intermixed with marigolds, the garden plot is one of THE places to be on the playground.

“It’s nice to see all the kids of different grades coming together and gardening,” Edmundson said. “I feel like all of our hard work is paying off.”

The club will continue to meet through the summer, watering plants, picking produce and continuing to learn about gardening.

“I want to keep doing the Garden Club,” Laybourne said. “This is inspiring me.”