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EarthBox in Our Communities:
Green Job Trainees Feed Community
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Green Job trainees from the Hire-A-Youth Program in Long Beach, California have recently established a demonstration garden at City Hall with EarthBoxes, to show citizens just how easy and rewarding it is to grow their own food in an urban setting. They ate most of what they grew, donating the surplus to a local food bank so that everyone had an opportunity to eat fresh, healthy food.
Under the direction of April Sabucco, garden project manager, EarthBoxes were chosen for this initiative because they require less water than conventional gardens, which is particularly important during droughts. The youths have grown and harvested a host of produce, including strawberries, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and even flowers and herbs.
Says Ms. Sabucco, "The youths I'm working with are so enthusiastic about gardening! They learn not only how good locally-grown produce can taste, but why supporting locally-grown food is important. We're now looking for other projects to take on that will bring more edible gardens to the city."
This Sustainable Long Beach initiative is made possible through a joint partnership with the Office of Sustainability, the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network, and the Hire-A-Youth Program. For more information, contact April Sabucco at april.sabucco@longbeach.gov or 562-331-5041.
To start an EarthBox community garden in your area, contact us here at
EarthBox Education at 1-800-821-8838, ext 8348 or 8369. |
Monthly Drawing For A $50EarthBox Gift Certificate!
Educators, we want to support you in every way we can. One way we show our appreciation is with our monthly drawing for a $50 EarthBox gift certificate.
This issue's winner is Tammy from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "We're a home school family with children in grades 3, 4, and 8," Tammy tells us. "I purchased the 12 EarthBox Kit with Youth Guide last spring so that we could study gardening. We planted many things, including tomatoes, cantaloupe, zucchini, peppers, herbs, strawberries and blackberries. Throughout the season, we consulted the Forum for answers to questions about watering, pest control and sunlight.
"We had a rough spring here in Louisiana, as it was very hot and dry early in the season. Despite the bad conditions, we still had tomatoes and zucchini on our salads early in the summer! We consulted the Forum again in the late summer on putting our boxes to bed.
"The children also read articles on what to plant for the upcoming spring, and they can't wait to get to work again. We kept two boxes on our deck and planted winter annuals in them. We look forward to many years of learning and gardening together!"
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Are You in the STEM Directory?
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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 absolutely 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!
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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.
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Greetings!
It's almost Spring -- and even as the sap starts to rise in the awakening trees, emotion and anticipation rise in the human heart. It's amazing how it elevates the spirit to watch life spring forth on a daily basis, and to anticipate the bounty that awaits later in the year. I'm reminded of the traditional Irish blessing:
May the rains
Sweep gentle across your fields,
May the sun warm the land,
May every good seed
You have planted bear fruit,
And late summer find you
Standing in fields of plenty.
Now: let's Spring into action!
Molly Philbin
Education Director
EarthBox, Inc.
P.S. Don't forget about our Snow Pea Activity Gift Kit, which is currently on Spring Special. This instructive kit is written to introduce kids from ages 5-11 to horticulture and nutrition in a fun way. Click here for more info. And when ordering, always remember to include the source code EDUDISC for a chance to win a $50 EarthBox gift certificate! |
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EarthBox In Our Schools
EarthBoxes to SpaceBoxes to ShelterBoxes
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Last year, students at the Bay Haven School of Basics Plus Elementary in Sarasota, Florida enjoyed bountiful harvests from their thirty EarthBoxes all year long, as part of a science lab project entitled "EarthBoxes to SpaceBoxes: Growing Food in School Today, In Space Tomorrow." This was made possible through funding from the William G. Selby and Marie Selby Foundation, the Bank of America Client Foundation, sponsors of an Education Foundation of Sarasota County, Inc. grant, and from prize money from EarthBox Inc. (this project won first prize in the National EarthBox Contest).
Students at all grade levels learned important scientific principles using EarthBoxes to grow organic vegetables. In turn, they were very receptive to nutrition lessons given by the school nurse. And what better way to impress upon the students the advantages of being a "locovore" (someone who eats food grown locally) as part of a "go green" lifestyle?
This science lab project expanded into a 2009 Earth Day celebration. Students raised more than $300 by growing and selling their EarthBox produce at the 2009 Bay Haven Spring Festival to sponsor a ShelterBox. ShelterBox Trust is a nonprofit, international disaster-relief program that provides assistance and shelter to victims of natural disasters. The box contains a ten-person tent, a cooking stove, blankets, cookware, water purification equipment, and other survival essentials for protection from the elements.
The students were given an identification number (ShelterBox No. 6076) so that they could track the final destination of their Bay Haven ShelterBox -- which was Sumatra, Indonesia, to aid survivors of a disastrous 2009 earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 1,300 people.
Even after a year, this project continues to bring meaning into the lives of the students as discussions continue in science and social studies classes as part of their interdisciplinary studies. With the enthusiastic support and dedicated teamwork of the many Bay Haven parent volunteers, teachers, principal, and generous grant sponsors, the students realize that they indeed can make a difference in the world. We hope that students will always remember this project, and that they will continue to be mindful of their role as responsible stewards of this planet and as caring members of a global community. |
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EarthBox Around the World
Keeping up with The Growing Connection |
As you might recall, The Growing Connection (TGC) has been doing good work helping people across the world grow better food more efficiently for several years now, using the medium of the EarthBox Growing System. In this issue, we thought we'd let you know how their efforts have been faring.
TGC has a new partner in India: The AME Foundation. Horticultural trials of the best local inputs for the EarthBoxes are now underway at The AME Foundation office in Bangalore. TGC was originally brought to India through the support of a committed volunteer, Stacy Cooper, and the network of volunteers that she inspired to join her on the mission to bring low-cost, water-efficient agricultural solutions to India.
 | Meanwhile, TGC celebrates another successful year in Mexico, with TGC gardens growing throughout the country. At right, members of the indigenous community of Haimatsie, Jalisco harvest fresh greens from their TGC garden. Plans for the coming year include expanding to more schools and community groups in Mexico City and beyond.
Teachers around the United States are beginning to plant their TGC spring gardens. Common veggies getting started right now are peas, lettuce, kale and hearty greens. Please visit TGC for more information on starting a TGC garden at your school or with your community group. |
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Community Conversations
Upcoming Events
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We thought you might like to stay abreast of upcoming educational events relative to EarthBox use, so here you go: National Science Teachers Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA: March 18-21
National Catholic Education Association Conference, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN: April 6-8
National Association of Activity Professionals National Conference, Milwaukee, WI: April 14-17
National AfterSchool Association Conference Washington, DC: April 19-21
Enjoy! |
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Funding Opportunities
DonorsChoose
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| Here's an interesting variation on the standard project funding process. DonorsChoose is an online, nonprofit charity that connects classrooms in need to people who want to help. Here's how it works: you post your project request at the DonorsChoose website, donors browse the project and choose who they'd like to support, and you send them project reports, photos, and an outline of how their money was spent. Easy! Donors can give anything from a dollar on up.
To post your own project, just click here and register. Then follow a few simple instructions, and you can get started! |
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EarthBox FYI
Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home!
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With Spring comes the ladybug, that helpful little jewel-like insect that eats a wide variety of small insect pests. You can attract these beneficial bugs into your garden by planting angelica and dill, or by allowing certain "weeds" like wild yarrow, wild carrot, and dandelions to flourish. A combination of whey and yeast works well as a homemade ladybug attractant, though you can buy commercial attractants too.
Once ladybugs come to visit, you can encourage them to stay by providing them with protective ladybug houses. These handy little structures offer great places for ladybugs to shelter in and lay their eggs, and they can also use them to overwinter in your garden. |
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EarthBox Tips
Get Those EarthBoxes Ready!
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It's time to prepare your EarthBoxes for planting!
Your first task it to pull out any dead plants and remove the old mulch cover. Next, look for a tan or gray strip at the top of the potting medium. That's the old fertilizer, which should be removed with a trowel. Then add a little more potting medium to make up for the removal of the plant roots and old fertilizer strip.
Next, order an EarthBox Replant Kit, which contains a 16-ounce bag of fertilizer, a 16-ounce bag of dolomite, two reversible mulch covers, and growing instructions. The standard replant kit sells for $9.95 plus shipping, and the organic replant kit sells for $14.95 plus shipping.
When it's time to plant, add dolomite if you're going to be growing vegetables (you won't need it for herbs and salad greens.) Then add new fertilizer to the top. If you're using organic fertilizer, be sure to cover it with a few inches of potting medium. Fit a new mulch cover over the EarthBox and cut small holes or X's for the new seeds or seedlings, et voila! You're ready to begin growing a delicious new crop in the world's best-selling growing container. |
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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.
Here's a list of Education Distributor websites to assist you in obtaining catalogs and getting more information about EarthBox in your classroom.
(Catalogs: Life Science, Environmental)
Fisher Science Education
(Catalogs: Elementary, Middle School, High School, College Science)
(Catalogs: Elementary Math/Science, Summit, Science, Senior Activities)
(Catalog: Secondary Science)
(Catalog: Ward Science) | |
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