|
EarthBox in Our Schools:
Teachers Trained
in EarthBox Gardening
|
For the past three years, Lynn Hyndman has been running EarthBox workshops to train Illinois elementary and middle school teachers in EarthBox gardening in the classroom. With the help of her assistant, Jukia, she trains thirty teachers each school year. These sessions are funded by Keep Evanston Beautiful, Inc. An educator for over 36 years, Ms. Hyndman was a natural for training teachers to become EarthBox gardeners. During her career, she's helped establish numerous edible school gardens (including one in an elementary school science lab), become a Master Gardener, helped develop a Green Schools Initiative, and has organized school workshops, among other achievements. "The goal of the training is to encourage teachers to do edible school gardening with their classes, to interest parents in helping organize the program, and to enlist assistance from community volunteers," says Hyndman.The initiative's success is obvious: "We now have nine schools in our district involved in edible school gardening with EarthBoxes and/or raised beds. Most EarthBox gardening is done in the classroom." |
Monthly Drawing For A Free
EarthBox Ready To Grow Kit!
Educators, we want to support you in every way we can. One way we show our appreciation for you is with our monthly drawing for a FREE EarthBox Ready To Grow Kit.
To be eligible for this random drawing, just enter the Source Code EDUDISC when placing an order. We'll announce each monthly winner in an upcoming education newsletter.
Good Luck!
The photo below shows Leslie Giambalvo, Lead Dietitian for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program site in North Chicago, Illinois.
Leslie says, "At Lake County Health Department & Community Health Center, we use EarthBoxes at four of our five WIC sites, where we don't have land to have an actual garden. We typically plant tomatoes, peppers and herbs so that we can show WIC clients how to grow plants themselves at home. Sometimes, we're able to have cooking demonstrations to show how to cook with the fresh produce."
|
|
Are You in the STEM Directory?
|
|
The National Directory of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) can help promote your after-school program, which in turn can lead to increased membership, funding, and partnership opportunities.
The Coalition for Science After School has partnered with Time Warner Cable to create this on-line
national directory, and participation is free. Time Warner Cable, to support children and families, will promote STEM with Public Service Announcements throughout a five-year campaign. EarthBox Education wants to collectively upload information to the site. To do this, we need to hear from you.
Please email your contact information and program description to molly.philbin@earthbox.com for loading. When the information is uploaded, you will receive an email with a login and password information, and you're in! |
Send Us Your Photos and
Success Stories!
|
|
To place an order, call
888-445-6295 (24/7)
or visit our online store.
Educators, please mention the Source Code EDUDISC when ordering your EarthBox to be eligible for a free EarthBox Ready to Grow Kit! Winners will be selected from our customer base and announced in each newsletter.
| |
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
Each fall, teachers experience the exhilaration of meeting new students and establishing new goals and procedures. I'd like to thank you for all your hard work and dedication!
I also want to remind you that EarthBox Education leads to green gardens. If you plant this fall, your students will reap the benefits of a harvest early in the school year.
Research proves that healthy, active, well-nourished children are more likely to attend school and are more prepared to learn. Inspired by this, EarthBox Education combined the EarthBox system with a garden guide and standards-based curriculum for teachers to help students grow their own produce. Combining indoor and outdoor gardening helps students develop a deeper understanding of natural systems and makes them better stewards of our Earth. These garden projects also bring teachers, staff, students, parents, and the community together in meaningful ways.
Here's a list of websites to assist you in obtaining catalogs and getting more information about EarthBox in your classroom.
Fisher Science Education
(Catalogs: Elementary, Middle School, High School, College Science)
(Catalogs: Elementary Math/Science, Summit, Science, Senior Activities)
(Catalog: Secondary Science) COMING IN 2010
(Catalog: K-5)
(Catalog: Ward Science)
(Catalogs: Life Science, Environmental)
(Catalog: S&S Worldwide) COMING IN 2010
I look forward to working with you to grow an EarthBox Garden in every school!
Molly Philbin
Education Director
EarthBox, Inc. |
 |
EarthBox in Our Communities
Housing Project Turned Urban Farm
|
 Tri-County Community Action Partnership in Southern New Jersey is growing fresh produce in EarthBoxes to provide the community with healthy, inexpensive fare, as well as to educate them on how to grow their own food. This project, Mill Creek Urban Farm, now houses 600 EarthBoxes on a 4-acre tract. Harvests include zucchini, peppers, basil, tomatoes, melons, eggplants and salad greens. The homegrown food will be sold to local schools and restaurants, at Farmer's Markets, and distributed to "in-need" residents. There will also be community training sessions to teach about container gardening and agriculture. As Mr. Albert B. Kelly, President and CEO of Tri-County, points out, "This being a farming area, the concept came naturally. I grew up in Mill Street, so this is kind of going full circle for me." Tri-County's long term plans include the use of renewable energy and green technology in harvesting solar energy, water resource management, and controlled environmental agriculture through greenhouses, hydroponics and an expansion of their EarthBox system. This Community Action Partnership is a private, non-profit organization serving New Jersey's Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties. It's supported by funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. |
|
EarthBox Around the World
Five Year Anniversary for TGC Mexico
|
 On September 30, 2009, The Growing Connection celebrated its five year anniversary of working with schools and communities in Mexico, in collaboration with the University of Guadalajara's Center for Life Science, Agriculture and Livestock (CUCBA). TGC currently has 15 EarthBox vegetable garden sites throughout Jalisco, Chiapas and Mexico City. CUCBA has become The Growing Connection's main center for research on both low-cost alternative substrates for the EarthBox and complementary technologies that enhance production. Much research has been done on using cocopeat (ground up coconut husks), volcanic rock, Jal (a porous stone native to Jalisco) and worm castings in the EarthBox. In addition to research, agronomists and community development specialists work closely with communities to provide the on-going horticultural training and assistance to ensure their EarthBox vegetable gardens and farms are a success. One of these is the indigenous community of the Huichol in the mountains of the Western Sierra Madre in the northern part of the State of Jalisco. The Huichol people don't have a tradition of growing fresh leafy greens, but through TGC, large vegetable gardens were planted using EarthBoxes under low-cost hoop houses. Within months of incorporating the leafy greens into their traditional dishes, many skin ailments were eliminated from their communities. |
|
|
Fresh from the Forum
An Invitation
|
 Thinking of incorporating EarthBoxes
into your classroom and don't know where to start? Visit the EarthBox Forum and
go to Youth Programs,
where another educator is also asking for help. Check out the advice!
|
|
Funding Opportunities
|
|
Looking to Do Something with your EarthBoxes? Create a Do Something Club chapter in your community!
Weekly grants are currently available in the amount of $500 for the creation and maintenance of sustainable community action projects, programs or organizations. It's free to belong to the Do Something Club, and there are 500 chapters in 43 states. It's a great way to take action in your community and grow a worthy, sustainable project. |
|
FYI Tips
Ugh-Slug Alert!
|
Be Aware and Be Prepared: During a wet season slimy slugs can slip under, on, and into the EarthBox to thrive in a constantly-shaded moist space with plenty of food. They can even go up and through the drain hole, because they can stretch up to 20 times their normal length, enabling them to squeeze through. Go here to choose one of many combative remedies for the ugly slug.
|
|
About EarthBox
|
The patented EarthBox was developed by commercial farmers, and proven in the lab and on the farm. Our maintenance-free, award-winning, high-tech growing system controls soil conditions, eliminates guesswork, and more than doubles the yield of a conventional garden -- with less fertilizer, less water and virtually no effort. It's used successfully on a daily basis by commercial farmers, educators, and consumers. Distributors are also finding it to be a popular growing system.
EarthBox is a remarkably easy-to-set-up system that can be used to grow produce virtually anywhere. Our systems have been incorporated into community gardens all over the world, enabling families and neighbors to share fresh produce, while minimizing work and expenses.
EarthBoxes also make excellent additions to the classroom. Our Pre-K through 12th grade standards-based curriculum support packages can bring science to life, with hands-on lessons that teach principles of growing and nutrition utilizing the scientific method in student-driven experiments.
To find out more about EarthBox's education programs, visit www.earthbox.com/education. | |
|
|
|
|
