Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Prairie Grove Garden Receives State Award
PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove’s community garden, created by the Middle School’s EAST program, recently received a special award.
It was named Best Community Collaboration in the School Garden of the Year contest, sponsored by Arkansas Agriculture Department and Farm Credit of Arkansas.
School officials accepted the award during a ceremony in December in Little Rock. Along with a plaque, the class received a $500 cash award.
Tracie Ashley, EAST facilitator, said she learned about the contest through an email sent out by Farm Credit.
“We took it as no one is going to pat us on the back if they don’t know about it,” Ashley said.
Her students began working on a community garden in August 2013, after receiving a $10,000 Beyond the Bell grant from the EAST Initiative and Arkansas Department of Education.
The garden is located across from the Prairie Grove Senior Activity and Wellness Center and has been used to provide fresh produce to the senior center and community.
The grant was for a raised vegetable garden but the EAST students also incorporated other elements into the space, including fruit trees, picnic tables and outdoor decorative items.
The school dedicated the garden with a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 11, 2016.
This year, the EAST program will make some changes to the garden, Ashley said. Students are going to create a botanical flower garden, along with an edible garden using plants that will climb a fence.
Ashley said it’s hard to find students who are able to work in the garden during the summer months so she is looking for ways to make a community garden easier for everyone.
Climbing plants will include peas, tomatoes, squash and berries, such as raspberries and strawberries.
EAST students submitted their own application for the Beyond the Bell grant and also their own nomination for the Garden of the Year contest.
“I am so thankful that organizations like Farm Credit and the EAST Initiative reach out to area schools and encourage them to think outside the box of classroom education and encourage learning through grant writing and gardening,” Ashley said by email. “I don’t know if many kids have ever been exposed to grant writing, let alone been actually selected to receive one.”
Working on a community garden has taught her students that hard work pays off, Ashley said.
Since the project started in August 2013, her students have provided “hundreds of pounds of berries and fresh produce for our Meals on Wheels organization and our local food pantries.”
The concept of the garden has changed but her students have kept up with the changes to make a bigger impact on the community, she added.
“Working with all of our community partners has strengthened their overall people and communication skills. It’s amazing to watch and listen to a teenager and a community member discuss the garden and how it has been helping out specific people in our town. I hope that my EAST kids never forget these conversations.”
Community partners for the garden are the senior center, Prairie Grove Health and Wellness Clinic, Tri-Cycle Farms, Garden Corps, AmeriCorps, Gardens Alive and Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks.