Mrs. Ripa and the gardeners are back at work after a year off due to COVID!
Team Highlands worked with Mrs. Ripa to write a grant for the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom, Emergency Agriculture Education COVID Scholarship for $1,000 and were awarded the grant in April.
Our team worked hard to remove the old raised beds, come up with a new layout, build 4 new raised beds and fill with soil/compost, and lay down new mulch. BRAVO! We also will be making stepping stones, installing an outdoor portable sink for handwashing, and students are already busy planting seeds for Mrs. Ripa’s 7th graders to harvest next year.
In addition to the MAITC grant, Mrs. Ripa applied for the Coast of Maine Products “Growing Good” soil donation program, and received 10 bags of their amazing lobster compost! Longfellows Greenhouse also donated flowers to attract pollinators to the gardens, and Ripa Stoneworks donated labor and materials, bags of concrete, for the stepping stones.
It has been wonderful to go outside and garden again with our students this spring!
RSU 18 Messenger 