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Perhaps aware of that, parents and faculty of at least two elementary schools in Fairfield, Roger Sherman and Mill Hill, have planted, tilled and harvested organic vegetable gardens.
The Roger Sherman Elementary School garden began about four years ago, as the brain child of parent Annelise McCay, who was inspired by a number of things.
One was the desire to see her children eat healthy food.
Another is that in the 10 years she lived in Manhattan, she did most of her food shopping at the Greenmarket at Union Square. She learned about fiddlehead ferns and purple potatoes, and loved that the Amish farmers would tell her how to prepare anything she bought. Moving to Fairfield and shopping at very big supermarkets was a letdown.
Her oldest child turned out to have a tree nut allergy, so she got involved with developing the Wellness Policy for her own child's school as well as for the Board of Education.
"The quality of the school lunch kept coming up. We wanted the kids to eat more vegetables for lunch," said McCay.
"The issue was, if we put vegetables on the table, will kids eat them?" she asked, noting that her daughter and her daughter's friends would dare each other to eat sorrel out of the garden.
"They won't eat it off a plate at the table, but they will graze it off the garden," she said.
McCay educated herself on how to garden organically. She went to conferences on good bugs and bad bugs and on women in agriculture.
Then she thought about how to get ultra-busy teachers on board.
She decided to tie it in with the curriculum when possible. The Kindergarten reads a book, "Miss Rumphis" about lupines and so they planted lupines and carrots.
The first grade had an ABC garden. They painted the individual wooden letters and planted Amarinth, Basil, Chives, Daisies, Eggplant, Fennel, Garlic, Hollyhocks, Iris, JollyJoker peas, Kale, Lavender, Lillies, Marigold, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Queen Ann's Lace, Rosemary and Radishes, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme, Violets, Watermelon, Yam Yarrow and Zucchini.
Second-graders were already planting bean seeds in a petri-dish as part of their curriculum, so it wasn't a stretch to put those in the ground along with some cherry tomatoes and patty-pan squash.
Third graders learn about native American culture, so "the three sisters," corn, beans, and squash, were a natural. Beans are planted around the corn stalk so they have something on which to climb and beans also restore nitrogen back in the soil.
Squash is planted on the outside of the garden because it has prickly leaves that prevent small animals from going further into the garden, and the three together provide a perfect protein according to McCay. Sunflowers were another favorite of native Americans, so they were a bonus.
Fourth graders study the Oregon Trail. The pioneers took potatoes with them because they could be stored easily. McCay decided to plant all different colors, red, purple and sweet potatoes.
The fifth grade has a pasta dinner each year, so tomatoes, basil and oregano were a good match.
Parent volunteers helped teachers help kids start seeds which then sat under a grow light before the class headed outdoors to plant them a few weeks later.
Nic Mancini, and Diane Ringelheim, Master Gardeners, were invaluable with their tips on soil, bugs and other matters, McCay said, adding that Lauren Lanham was invaluable in applying for grants, giving them the money to go ahead. McCay's sister is a designer and she designed a weathervane which was a gift for the center of the garden.
The garden itself was dug the very first time by the Public Works Department with a back hoe. Unfortunately, it poured that day, so the children couldn't watch.
Sherman then got a donation of bricks from parents who were ripping up their patio and said, "Come and get 'em." Sherman's garden isn't far from the marsh, so bricks were a necessity, if gardeners didn't want wet feet. The six foot fence was painted on the inside with child-size flowers by the fifth grade art class.
"Every year is different. Last year we had great corn, but no carrots. This year, we have carrots, but no corn," said McCay on Labor Day morning, convincing Lanham to try a nasturtium. Gingerly, she did, exclaiming that it tasted like pepper.
At Mill Hill Elementary School, it was kindergarten teacher Dan Smith, who began their garden about six years ago. He asked the principal if he could have a small garden for his students. The principal thought it would be nice to make it big enough for everyone.
The fathers put up deer fencing and someone laid bricks. As at Sherman, money was raised by selling bricks with names or sayings engraved on them.
Kindergartners planted in the raised beds each year, but enthusiasm on the part of the rest of the school gradually diminished. Over the years, weeds became jungle-quality. The landscapers for the school asked if they couldn't just, well, plow it under or something.
Three parents, Mary Jo Koeck, Nadine Nizet and Heather Carey asked the principal if they couldn't have one year to prove that a garden was viable. Granted.
The results were visible at the farmers' market they held in front of the school last Friday afternoon.
Bundles of herbs, lavender, rosemary, parsley, sage, marjoram, and oregano, mini- carrots, eggplant, little peppers, pumpkin, kale, leeks, green beans, and mini- gourds overflowed the table in front of the school's entrance. The first grade teachers marched their students by so they could see the results of last years' Kindergarten labors. $122.50 was raised for next spring's seeds with fifth graders pitching in to sell.
The garden was accomplished with the help of "lots of people," said McCay, naming among others, Suzanne Laginestra and Amy DeLannoy, who headed Girl Scout troops. Tony Piccolo, the head custodian, put a spigot closer to the garden, which was an immense help. The student council collected box tops to raise money.
"A lot of mothers and fathers did a lot of back-breaking stuff," said McCay, noting that Carey and her husband lugged compost one weekend and dug it into the soil. Another father built the compost bin.
As McCay was doing some of the initial weeding last spring at 7 a.m., a watchman walked by and told her she had an uphill battle. "You take it one weed at a time." she said.
