Garden project radiantly blossoms

SANDPOINT — Gardeners know that amazing things often have tiny beginnings.

But Michele Murphree had no idea that a project to raise a modest garden at Northside Elementary School would blossom so robustly.

Murphree discussed starting the garden with the late Lois Wythe and also with Jill Edmundson, Gail Burkett and kindergarten teachers at the school.

“We were there in the kindergarten room, sitting on the little chairs thinking, ‘Do you think anyone would be interested in a garden club?’”

Murphree figured the project would attract a handful of students. They started with four garden beds several years ago, but the school now has 17 raised beds for fruits and vegetables that feed students and their families. Produce is also grown for the Bonner Community Food Center.

“It’s beyond anything we ever imagined this project would come to. It is just amazing,” Murphree said.

The project has also attracted strong support from the community and spread to other schools such as Kootenai Elementary and the Sandpoint Charter Middle School.

Murphree said the project gained loft through grants from the Community Assistance League, the Panhandle Alliance For Education, Walmart and the Equinox Foundation. Contributions from local businesses such as Cedar Hills Church, Cedars of Idaho, Ponderay Garden Center, The Home Depot, All Seasons Garden & Floral, AmericanWest Bank, Sanborn Creek Nursery and others have made the program less reliant on grant funding and more sustainable by donating money or materials.

“What’s been great about this is all these businesses have just come in and said, ‘Here, we want to help,’ without us even asking,” said Murphree.

The gardens have been worked into the schools’ curriculums and are encouraging healthier eating habits.

“The first year we had salads in the school, the school actually ran out of salad dressing,” Murphree recalls.

The project has also attracted the attention of public radio in Boise and an East Coast author, who gave the garden a literary shout-out.

Murphree suspects the gardening project has been so enthusiastically embraced because there is no shortage of positive angles.

“There is so much negativity out there. Here’s something that’s so positive and people that come and visit see these kids having so much fun and they’re starting to eat healthy,” she said.

Ken Wood of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership program, which is also supporting the project, agrees.

“Any time you have a project that, number one, helps kids and helps kids eat, it’s a no-brainer,” said Wood. “Everybody wants to help out in some regard.”