By Tixie Fowler | Jalapenos, butterflies and several Joe-Pye’s will be on hand to welcome a whole new crop of sixth graders when they arrive at Summerour Middle School in Norcross this fall.
Volunteers toss and turn elements to make enriched soil for the garden.
In addition to a new, state-of-the-art brick facility located just down the street from the previous school, this year’s arriving 6th, 7th and 8th graders will be introduced to the school’s “Environmental Education Center” (EEC). This is a series of outdoor classrooms that are settings for a progressive curriculum and community-based urban agriculture and environmental stewardship program.
The new 17-acre campus includes a Teaching and Demonstration Garden where students and their families can learn a variety of techniques for growing, harvesting and even cooking fresh vegetables. An adjacent sliver of forest allows students to learn about erosion and watershed management, forest revitalization and restoration of native habitat.
The Captain Planet Foundation recently recognized Summerour’s vision of becoming a self-sustaining garden and environment-based learning hub by selecting it as a Project Learning Garden. Founded by Ted Turner in 1991 and now chaired by his daughter Laura Turner Seydel, the Foundation supports high-quality, hands-on environmental stewardship projects that have enabled over 1,000 youth to make significant environmental improvements to their schools or communities.
Thanks to Captain Planet, Summerour teachers will soon be provided with hands-on training and curriculum aligned to national standards for math, science, history, language arts and health, in the context of project-based learning in the garden. The program includes lesson kits filled with supplies, a fully-equipped mobile cooking cart, mentors for the schoolyard garden and summer garden management strategies. It’s based on best practices from over 750 Captain Planet Funded outdoor classrooms, organic gardens, pollinator gardens, learning trails and native habitats.
Already, a diverse group of volunteers have donated their time to the first phase of the concept. Shades of Green, an Atlanta-based permaculture design firm, donated time to formalize the initial concept plan. Summerour’s Junior Leadership 7th grade class spent this past May working with Norcross Police Department (NPD) Detective Arelis Rivera and Norcross’ resident HGTV film producers Suzan Satterfield and Allen Facemire to organize and document a Forest Clean Up Day.
Neighbors and families were rallied to help clear debris in a stretch of forest between the school and nearby apartments; kids scrubbed graffiti from trees and learned how difficult it
Those helping to prepare Summerour facility.
is to remove kudzu by hand. On another day, local church leaders, parents and alumni of NPD’s Hispanic Citizen’s Police Academy worked with Gwinnett Tech’s “Sustainable Urban Farming” Teacher Tony Gobert to build the garden’s first four raised beds. Soon afterwards, another group of volunteers recycled concrete blocks and landscape timbers from the old school site, slated for demolition in June.
As the EEC continues to take shape on the ground, the support for Summerour’s lofty concept continues to gain momentum. Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) has proven an invaluable ally, generously offering to refrain from normal sodding and maintenance schedules in areas allocated for EEC development. There’s even discussion about adapting landscape plans to prioritize natives like maple and oak over the more traditionally planted Crepe Myrtles and ornamental pear trees.
Much of what has been accomplished to date is documented on the program’s Face Book page “Gardens4Community.” Private donations and in-kind support have funded the program thus far. However, efforts to fundraise and solicit volunteers will assure the EEC’s continued development.
- To learn more about sponsorship and volunteering opportunities, call the school at 770-448-3045 or send an email to gardens4growingcommunity@gmail.com.
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