In The Press

The Princeton School Gardens Cooperative was invited to submit a link to its how-to manual on establishing and running school-wide tastings. It made the grade – the Garden State on Your Plate manual was recently featured on the national newsletter.

At a recent teacher-garden workshop hosted by the Princeton Public Library, Sharon Goldman, principal at Community Park Elementary School, explained her evolution to enthusiastic booster of the gardens and food-based learning. The workshop, conducted by Dorothy Mullen and Diane Landis of the Princeton School Gardens Cooperative, drew 80 participants from the mid-Atlantic region.

From the piece: Starting this week at Princeton Public High School, students can take gym class in the garden.

“I think it’s strangely enjoyable,” said Tim Vasseur, a Princeton sophomore, shovel in hand. “It’s definitely not easy to do or anything like that.”

Advocates for greener schools believe this is the first time public school students will receive physical education credit for garden work. The idea was conceived by Matt Wilkinson, a physical education teacher and a former wrestling coach who also has a background in horticulture.

“We’re giving students another option to mainstream physical education,” Mr. Wilkinson said. “How long is somebody going to play basketball or soccer? Gardening they can do their whole lives.”

Last fall, members of the community raised $1,500 and constructed 16 raised garden beds on school property. Now that it’s spring, students will get to work planting seeds, weeding, and turning compost.

“It gives people who aren’t that athletic — and I feel like I’m not — it gives them an opportunity to do something else,” said Kruthi Isola, a sophomore. “You learn how to do more than just play a game.”