In The News: JAES awarded $3,500 grant for garden

Written by: Seth Gordon, Newberg Graphic

Ag education — Teacher's proposal one of 30 selected by Fiskars' Project Orange Thumb

Whenever teacher Stephanie Sayles moves to a new elementary school, she pretty much has the same thought.

“Let’s put in a garden!”

That was definitely Sayles’ first thought when she left Ewing Young to teach fifth grade at Joan Austin in 2010, but various factors have kept the project on hold.

That is no longer the case thanks to a $3,500 grant Sayles was awarded March 2 by Fiskars’ Project Orange Thumb. Joan Austin is one of 30 projects selected nationwide.

“Now I’m really jazzed,” Sayles said. “This is going to be really fun.”

Last year, Sayles and her fifth grade students started a cafeteria recycling and composting program, which reduced waste by 84 percent.

The garden project, which will also involve planting trees to begin an urban forest and a separate plot for a berry patch, will piggyback on the compost created by that program, emulating the success she had with the garden and recycling programs she established at Ewing Young.

Her work there made a quick ally out of Joan Austin principal Terry McElligott, in part, because her son was one of Sayles’ students and participated in the garden at Ewing Young.

The list of community partners Sayles has recruited to the project is already quite long and still growing.

The first to come aboard was Chehalem Garden Club, which will provide seeds, plants and master gardeners to partner in teaching students and participate in garden activities. Engineer Scott Steckley is helping Sayles to map out the project with computer-aided design software.

Next door neighbor Newberg Christian Church has constructed several massive raised garden beds for the project and George Fox University director of plant services Clyde Thomas will also be a partner.

Sayles has connected with city of Newberg employee and storm water expert Sonja Johnson about incorporating a rain garden into the project in the future and the school district maintenance department has also lent its support.

The grant will provide $1,500 worth of tools for the project and Sayles foresees the remaining $2,000 going toward to things like a tool shed, garden carts, soil, seeds and fencing.

Students have not done much to this point, but with the grant in place, they now know the project will happen and Sayles hopes to organize a work party over spring break to install the beds.

If the weather dries up in time, she will have them fill the beds before the end of school in June.

“Depending on what else is going on, I may be able to get a summer garden going with the kids,” Sayles said. “But if we can get those beds in and filled, that would be wonderful.”