Community Garden Planting at Kistler School Rescheduled
The Pennsylvania Environmental Council is partnering with the City of Wilkes-Barre Health Department, the Wilkes-Barre Area School District, The Lands at Hillside Farms, King's College and the Penn State Cooperative Extension/4-H to create a community garden at Kistler Elementary in Wilkes-Barre. The purposed of this collaborative community garden is to educate students not only how to grown their own food but also the health, environmental and economic benefits of locally grown food.
The Lands at Hillside Farms "Peace & Carrots" summer camp children will be planting vegetables in this community garden tomorrow, Wednesday, August 19th at 10:00. (The Community Garden is located in the rear of Kistler Elementary School near the playground). The event originally had been scheduled for August 13.
The Pennsylvania Environmental Council will be providing the participants with educational instruction and materials on the importance of physical activity, healthy eating choices and the environmental benefits of locally grown food to the Camp Children on Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 1:00 pm at the Lands At Hillside Farms.
Funding for the educational presentations has been provided by the Blue Ribbon Foundation and the Luzerne Foundation through the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. The City of Wilkes-Barre Health Department and Department of Public Works provided building materials and labor for the construction of the raised garden beds. Wilkes-Barre Area School District, The Lands at Hillside Farms and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council also participated in the construction of the raised beds at the Kistler Elementary Community Garden. Earth Conservancy donated soil for the community garden.
The Kistler Elementary Community Garden is part of a community garden program initiated by the Wilkes-Barre City Health Department three years ago that is a collaboration of the local partners listed above.
This community garden will be incorporated into the Kistler Elementary curriculum this fall. Kistler Elementary students will be maintaining and harvesting the garden through the fall. Additionally, Myers High School students will be mentoring the elementary students on this collaborative community project.
For Editorial Comment, please contact: Julie McMonagle, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, 570-718-6507