Vernon SchoolThe Garden
The Vernon Garden was created in the spring of 2007 by more than 600 volunteers from the neighborhood, local churches, the PTA, the student body, the families of staff members, Home Depot employees, Northwest Natural Gas employees, SMART readers, and people involved with Hands On Portland. Mr. Reeves, his wife Sarah Canterberry, then principal Mrs. Miller, and a committee of teachers, community members, and experts volunteering their time had spent more than a year getting ready for the build day.
Our Vision
It is our hope that children will become more connected with the natural world, and find a lifelong source of enjoyment by experiencing the pleasure of working in the school garden. We find value in green areas, fresh food, and taking responsibility for other living things. We are delighted that so many members of the community support us in this vision.
The Gardens
The garden closest to the school parking lot contains a variety of handicap accessible garden boxes. Classes start vegetables from seed in their rooms, then plant them in the boxes. The growth of the plants are tracked for math and science lessons, and the produce is enjoyed in the fall by the whole school.
The garden closest to the main office is a native plants garden. It is planted with a variety of shrubs, flowers, and ornamentals native to the Willamette Valley.
Supporting Us
The garden needs volunteers to fill a variety of roles:
- Getting the garden ready for spring planting
- Summer maintenance and watering
- Maintaining the edging and pathways
- Readying for winter
- Donating supplies, like seeds, seed starter soil and containers, gardening gloves, small hand tools, hoses, or other things as needed
- Leading workshops to create garden art, such as stepping stones or stakes with plant names
- Helping to plan the next phase in building
Thank you to Hands on Portland for the pictures.
