The Center for Ecoliteracy pioneered work with school gardens, school lunches, and integrating ecological principles and sustainability into school curricula. The CFE works toward schooling that returns to basics: engaging with the natural world, understanding how nature sustains life, nurturing communities, and exploring consequences of how we feed and provision ourselves.
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Preparing for fall gardening
It’s time to plant starts of fall vegetables and sow lettuce for fall harvest. I’ve got kale, collards and broccoli already started. Cucumbers and zucchinis are dying back. Untreated they go to wilting diseases but not until I’ve had a good harvest. Don’t compost diseased plants, it spreads the problem.
– Dorothy Mullen
A Growing Movement
More than 56 participants – educators, administrators and community gardeners – from across the Garden State gathered in Princeton in March to learn about establishing and expanding edible schoolyard gardens. Our day-long workshop, began with a discussion by Dorothy Mullen, PSGC co-founder, of foods and nutrients that children need for optimum learning. A panel of educators, including John Miranda, athletic director and wellness committee chair of Princeton Regional Schools and Liz Cutler, teacher and environmental education coordinator at Princeton Day School, discussed ways to integrate gardens – with their myriad benefits – into existing curricular requirements. Diane Landis, PSCG co-founder, and Kim McReynolds, grants writer for Princeton Regional Schools, talked about working with teachers, parents, local businesses and administration officials to build support and funding. The workshop ended with Chris Albrecht, executive chef at Eno Terra restaurant in Kingston, leading a cooking demonstration – and tastings – of fresh pasta flavored and paired with typical produce from a school garden