Kensington International School Community Garden
Starting in the fall of 2014, Kensington International School began their very first community garden project. Using USDA Farm to School Grant money, we were able to build our garden that included 16 raised beds constructed by John Alphin from Springfield Facilities Department and Armado Collado, a recent graduate of Commerce High School. The raised beds were then filled with soil mix from Collins Compost and were used to plant winter rye, garlic, and strawberries in the fall. Come spring, the students planted peppers, various herbs including lemon basil and mint, tomatoes, carrots, kale, collard greens, celery, and chives. We were able to cut and use the winter rye as a mulch to cover our plants in the early spring. Since then, we have had many community events and endless classroom experiences with the children and their families. This fall, we planted three pear trees, three peach trees, and three blueberry bushes. During the winter months, we will be growing mushrooms in the classrooms. We look forward to harvesting our crops this school year with the children.