The Salem Garden Collaborative at Salem Elementary School has been honored as the “Community Collaboration Project of the Year” at the 2024 Growing to Green Harvest Awards by Franklin Park Conservatory. According to a report from Columbus City School, the award recognizes the school's effort to engage the community in educational initiatives through a hands-on gardening program.
Launched in the fall of 2023, the collaborative has rapidly become a central part of the local educational landscape, weaving in family and community involvement. "This project is amazing because it's been done, built, and maintained by Salem's community, students, and parents," Farm to Table Coordinator Katie Young told Columbus City Schools. Surpassing bureaucratic hurdles, they fundraised rigorously, gaining district support and approvals that sealed the project's inception and eventual triumph. The commitment evident in Salem is not one you find on any regular school grounds.
Underpinning this community effort, technical guidance was rendered by Franklin Park Conservatory’s Growing to Green Program and support from various local entities, including the CCS Farm to School program. The design for the space was laid out by Greenscapes Landscaping, with the idea to foster a garden and a communal hub, enriching the school's curriculum further.
"Having the garden [at Salem] is exciting, it's a place where the kids can learn about gardening, food, and nature," community member Diana Morawetz said in the Columbus City Schools article. The project has involved over 80 students and 12 parents in recreational gardening while incorporating the garden into science, nutrition, and art lessons. Teachers have seized the opportunity to extend learning beyond the four walls of the classroom, tying in practical knowledge with day-to-day coursework and entwining practical application and theoretical understanding.
Community engagement outside of school includes multiple events inviting neighbors to partake in garden tours, produce tastings, and view student-created art exhibits. These avenues foster a more interconnected community fabric, one where the common ground is literally filled with burgeoning life. "I feel honored to have brought this to the community," Salem Garden Collective leader and parent Stephanie Wheeler told Columbus City Schools.
