Lowe's Toolbox for Education grant helps fund community garden at South Elementary

Last fall, parent Andy Reinhard applied for a Lowe's Toolbox for Education grant to start a garden at South Elementary School in Crystal Lake. Reinhard, who is also a science teacher at Johnsburg District 12, wrote for the grant on behalf of the South PTO and was awarded the grant last spring.

Now in its 11th year of helping build better schools and communities, the Lowe's Toolbox for Education program has provided more than $49 million to more than 11,000 schools across the country. The program is funded by the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation, which supports grass-roots and community school projects.

Reinhard's vision for the project began as a pumpkin garden, but the project expanded in scope thanks to the ideas and contributions of many.

"I have had a lot of fun growing pumpkins with my children and wanted to allow every child at South the chance to plant a seed and watch it grow," said Reinhard. "Modern kids are not connected to how food is grown and I thought this would be a great way to show kids how seeds become the food they eat."

Currently, the community garden is comprised of seven cedar beds filled with vegetables and flowers from Countryside Flower Shop in Crystal Lake, which donated the plants in July to jump start the garden. This spring, South students will learn about the life cycle of plants and plant seeds for the garden. Plans include planting native plants, like milkweed, around an existing small oak tree to attract monarchs next spring and help bring in pollinators. A sensory garden with lambs ear, mint and lavender also will be planted to benefit students, especially those in the school's Aspire autism program. To protect and personalize the garden, a hand-painted fence will be installed surrounding the garden. In preparation for this, South students are painting self portraits on fence panels during art classes led by art teacher Sue Jensen.

To help maintain the garden, Jensen and extended curriculum teacher Sandy Bigos started a garden club this fall. The club, made up of approximately 40 fourth-graders, meets after school or during lunch recess one to two days a week. The club, which will meet through the end of November, will start up again in late February to allow more students to participate. Bigos and Jensen hope to expand the club to students in all grade levels in the near future. During the summer, garden club students will be encouraged to come back to the school with their parents to harvest the vegetables. By joining the South Elementary Community Garden Facebook group, parents will be able to see when the plants will be ready for harvest.

"We are so appreciative of the efforts of Mr. Reinhard, from having the vision and writing and securing the grant, to taking the lead for implementing the project," said South principal Rachael Alt. "The students are excited to have their own personal South community garden to take ownership of, learn from, and cultivate. Thank you, Mr. Reinhard, Mrs. Jensen, Mrs. Bigos, and the South PTO, for making our garden project a success!"