Carrots, onions, and potatoes have grown from Sayéik Gastineau Community School’s Garden, and so has family engagement. The garden, tended by school staff, community volunteers, students, and families, provided the veggies for a school-wide dinner with a huge turnout. Kids were invested, and so were families. Produce from the bumper crop was also sent home with students.
Across town at Kaxdigoowoo Héen Elementary School, each classroom made soup with their garden harvest and invited their families to join them for lunch.
Discovery Southeast, a local non-profit, coordinated with school librarians Monika Haygood and Davin Savikko to manage the gardens. Davin recently shared at a community storytelling event that what’s happening in schools is “awesome – not like ninja turtle awesome, but like awe-inspiring.”
Whether you grow, hunt, purchase, or potluck food, feeding families is an easy way to create a more relaxed space where families and school staff can connect and build relationships.
Check out the full article about the community garden here.