During the summer months, parents with children at Johnson Park volunteered their time in the garden to help water and tend plants. This enabled the students on their return to jump straight into garden activities, harvesting, cooking and tasting the produce they planted before their summer break. It is interesting and fun sometimes to taste what a vegetable is like before it is cooked and in my opinion when organically grown it tastes even better, especially when freshly picked. During September, students were busy making dishes such as salsa for the Johnson Park picnic event and at this event parents had the opportunity to sample the garden produce.
The Boy Scouts built a second compost for JP; students learned the process of decomposing vegetation and the value it brings to the vegetable soil beds when ready. There is a big oak tree in the garden so plenty of leaves to rake and deposit, as well as left over vegetable plants to start the composting process. The acorns from the oak tree were also collected and students planted them in the hope they will sprout in time for Arbor Day, April 26, and have grown sufficiently enough to take home and plant.
In October, kindergarten and first grade enjoyed various activities with pumpkins as well as tasting pumpkin seeds baked in olive oil. Second grade learned all about the Black Swallowtail Butterfly. They made soup from the host plants used by this native insect. Third grade had the opportunity to gather herbs and tie them using a slip-knot. The students took them home to hang and dry for later use in their home cooking. Fourth grade experimented with vegetables and berries as a natural dye. Fourth grade also had the chance to make a delicious soup called Three Sisters, consisting of squash and beans. Fifth grade made pumpkin muffins.
November really saw the end of most of the garden produce, the season finished with most grades planting spring bulbs and scattering seeds, the vegetable beds were prepared for the following spring. Tools and equipment were cleaned and safely stored.
This fall, Littlebrook welcomed Lesley Bush to its garden team as Garden Educator. Lesley is a former science teacher and master gardener and will be teaching garden lessons to each class in the school five times over the course of the year. In her lessons this fall, each grade started work on its Grade Garden Project for the year, and participated in the school-wide harvest of fall crops.
Another highlight this fall was preparing fresh-from-the-garden veggies right in the classroom using a new cooking cart, which was donated by PSGC through its Garden State on Your Plate grant. First graders made a rubbed kale salad, with celery and nasturtiums, for the welcome back family picnic. 
Kindergarteners made a pear sauce from our prolific pear tree. Fourth graders cooked up butternut squash from the three sisters bed. And fifth graders tasted roasted eggplant dip, made from our own eggplants by LB mom and chef, Jen Carson.
The kids brought in the remaining crops just before this year’s fall freeze and they were displayed at a Harvest Table at the pancake breakfast on October 29. Families and staff in attendance got to bring home a bag of fresh LB-grown veggies!
Last month, in recognition of Farm-to-School month, the Community Park PTO held its first-ever “Help Our Garden Grow” Day. It was an overwhelming success, as more than 20 families around the community showed up to volunteer. As they soaked in the sunshine, these parents and students installed two new gorgeous raised beds, cleaned and mulched existing beds, expanded two gardens in the back of the school, painted rain barrels, decorated and hung new signs in each garden, planted several new shrubs and trees, and repaired garden furniture. Mr. Emmons, the school’s science teacher, was delighted with the improvements. As a result of these accomplishments and the CP community’s hard work, he was able to jump into winter garden preparation with his students in late October.