How does your garden grow? The Great Amaryllis Race is underway at Millersburg Elementary
With school funds tough to come by, many school districts are forgoing field trips because of the expenses involved.
Millersburg Elementary is in that category, but one local parent volunteer figured, if the kids can’t go to the pumpkin patch come October, then why not bring the pumpkin patch to them?
While pumpkins may come down the road, the immediate task at hand for students at Millersburg is raising Amaryllis plants, each classroom taking on the responsibility of growing their own bulb into a healthy plant.
Millersburg Elementary has taken on the new project, which was implemented by Melissa Biltz, and is implementing a school garden using lesson plans from Granny’s Garden School in Loveland, Ohio.
The Great Amaryllis Race is part of Granny’s Garden School yearlong collaboration with Loveland Elementary and Primary School near Cincinnati. Roberta Paola, the founder of Granny’s Garden School, is allowing other schools to model her program to start their own school garden, and thanks to Biltz’ efforts, Millersburg Elementary has picked up the torch and run with it.
“(The West Holmes School District) wellness committee has applied for a $2,000 grant to help get this program off the ground and we will know in February if we were lucky enough to receive the funds,” said Biltz. “While we wait for the grant notification, a group of donors purchased 20 Amaryllis kits to introduce the school gardens to the students and staff.”
During the week of Jan. 17, Biltz, the garden coordinator, visited each of the classrooms to introduce The Great Amaryllis Race and present complete grade-appropriate lesson plans for the race, which include connections to the Ohio State Standards in science and math.
“We used a compass to determine which way the windows face in the different classrooms and discussed the parts of a bulb and how it differs from a seed,” said Biltz. “Predictions were made on how tall the plant would get and which would grow first, the stems or leaves. They all seem very excited to watch for the beautiful flowers while collecting data on leaf count, leaf length, stem length and bud count.”
The idea is to introduce the importance of a healthy diet, and at the same time receive valuable educational opportunities for the students. Biltz said that the hope is to create a garden on the lower field at the elementary school, and have the students and other volunteers grow the vegetables.
“It helps kids learn to take responsibility, and it also gets them outside and teaches them the value of eating right,” said Biltz. “The kids were really excited about the Great Race, and when I came back two days after we started, they already had some sprouts. It was exciting to see them get into it so quickly.”
Biltz said that the hope is that vegetables from the garden can be implemented into the school’s lunch program. She added that Leah Miller has been in touch with local farmers, including Greenfield Farms, which came to the school to seek out a good spot for the garden, because they want to make a connection between local growers and the school.
“Really, if you think about it, our school district is the biggest restaurant in the county,” said Biltz of school lunches. “Why not get local producers involved with supplying food. It’s healthy, and because they are right here, it is fresher.”
Certificates will be given throughout the contest for tallest, fastest growing and first blooming Amaryllis. The very first certificate will be for the best name.
“The students learned that the scientific name for an Amaryllis is Hippeastrum, which is Greek for horseman’s star. Many exciting names are starting to arrive, including Hippie Headless Horseman, so it should be fun to see what other great names come in.”
Biltz added that the goal now is to bring in more volunteers to assist as classroom coordinators, families to volunteer for garden maintenance over the summer, and people who are willing to share in the summer harvest as well as donations of money or supplies to get the garden started. For more information about Granny’s Garden School or to volunteer, contact Biltz at melissabiltz@gmail.com, or call 330-231-6175.
Millersburg Elementary is in that category, but one local parent volunteer figured, if the kids can’t go to the pumpkin patch come October, then why not bring the pumpkin patch to them?
While pumpkins may come down the road, the immediate task at hand for students at Millersburg is raising Amaryllis plants, each classroom taking on the responsibility of growing their own bulb into a healthy plant.
Millersburg Elementary has taken on the new project, which was implemented by Melissa Biltz, and is implementing a school garden using lesson plans from Granny’s Garden School in Loveland, Ohio.
The Great Amaryllis Race is part of Granny’s Garden School yearlong collaboration with Loveland Elementary and Primary School near Cincinnati. Roberta Paola, the founder of Granny’s Garden School, is allowing other schools to model her program to start their own school garden, and thanks to Biltz’ efforts, Millersburg Elementary has picked up the torch and run with it.
“(The West Holmes School District) wellness committee has applied for a $2,000 grant to help get this program off the ground and we will know in February if we were lucky enough to receive the funds,” said Biltz. “While we wait for the grant notification, a group of donors purchased 20 Amaryllis kits to introduce the school gardens to the students and staff.”
During the week of Jan. 17, Biltz, the garden coordinator, visited each of the classrooms to introduce The Great Amaryllis Race and present complete grade-appropriate lesson plans for the race, which include connections to the Ohio State Standards in science and math.
“We used a compass to determine which way the windows face in the different classrooms and discussed the parts of a bulb and how it differs from a seed,” said Biltz. “Predictions were made on how tall the plant would get and which would grow first, the stems or leaves. They all seem very excited to watch for the beautiful flowers while collecting data on leaf count, leaf length, stem length and bud count.”
The idea is to introduce the importance of a healthy diet, and at the same time receive valuable educational opportunities for the students. Biltz said that the hope is to create a garden on the lower field at the elementary school, and have the students and other volunteers grow the vegetables.
“It helps kids learn to take responsibility, and it also gets them outside and teaches them the value of eating right,” said Biltz. “The kids were really excited about the Great Race, and when I came back two days after we started, they already had some sprouts. It was exciting to see them get into it so quickly.”
Biltz said that the hope is that vegetables from the garden can be implemented into the school’s lunch program. She added that Leah Miller has been in touch with local farmers, including Greenfield Farms, which came to the school to seek out a good spot for the garden, because they want to make a connection between local growers and the school.
“Really, if you think about it, our school district is the biggest restaurant in the county,” said Biltz of school lunches. “Why not get local producers involved with supplying food. It’s healthy, and because they are right here, it is fresher.”
Certificates will be given throughout the contest for tallest, fastest growing and first blooming Amaryllis. The very first certificate will be for the best name.
“The students learned that the scientific name for an Amaryllis is Hippeastrum, which is Greek for horseman’s star. Many exciting names are starting to arrive, including Hippie Headless Horseman, so it should be fun to see what other great names come in.”
Biltz added that the goal now is to bring in more volunteers to assist as classroom coordinators, families to volunteer for garden maintenance over the summer, and people who are willing to share in the summer harvest as well as donations of money or supplies to get the garden started. For more information about Granny’s Garden School or to volunteer, contact Biltz at melissabiltz@gmail.com, or call 330-231-6175.
Published: January 25, 2012
