Garden Grant Update: REALMS

REALMS Middle School was one of seven School Garden Grant recipients in 2017. Here is a brief summary of what they did with the grant funds! Right now, The Environmental Center is fundraising to help MORE local teachers create and improve school gardens. Learn more and show your support here. 

REALMS Middle School accomplished a LOT with their school garden grant! Their goal was to improve garden infrastructure in order to hold a full class of students engaged in garden-rich activities. They built a garden planting table and wash station, and purchased a fleet of new tools and a nuc of honey bees.

Growing food became a cornerstone to the 6th grade “Waste Less, Nourish More” curriculum – but the entire school, and kids of all ages, benefited from garden programs. Students and teachers even produced three short films about their garden experiences to share with the community. Check out these inspiring videos:

• Parker’s Plant Project (1:20 min)
• No Ordinary Garden (1:47 min)
• Waste Less, Nourish More (9min)

REALMS also implemented the “Parker Plant Project,” a plant sale, where students learned to harvest seeds and germinate plant starts to sell to customers. In addition, they grew radishes and donated these to the Back Door Café Program in Bend. Way to go, REALMS!