|
|
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
|
|
From the garden to the lunch tray Nay Ah Shing students grow their own healthy foods
ONAMIA - The zucchini is harvested, the peas are picked and the potatoes are being pulled from the ground, but the tomatoes are not yet ripe and the pole beans are still growing in the garden of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's Nay Ah Shing Schools.
This is the first year the Nay Ah Shing Schools have started a garden for students to plant, maintain and harvest produce that will be used in their lunches and nutrition education classes. The goal of the project is to help students learn more about where their food comes from and about healthy eating.
"As a nutritionist for the schools, I know how difficult it can be to get children to eat their fruits and vegetables," said Deb Foye, Nay Ah Shing Schools nutrition services coordinator, who helped launch the garden project. "But by giving students a role in growing their own produce, they have a new appreciation for these healthy foods and are more excited to eat them."
While Nay Ah Shing students were on summer vacation, the 3- to 10-year-old children in the band's day care program watered and weeded the garden with the help of Nay Ah Shing staff. They also harvested produce - including radishes, celery and peas - as it was ready. In addition, school staff members have volunteered their time to tend to the garden on the weekends as needed. When students returned to Nay Ah Shing on Aug. 25, they resumed maintenance of the garden and will harvest the remaining produce, which includes cucumbers, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, tomatoes, carrots, beans and pumpkins.
Early last spring, Nay Ah Shing students and teachers planted pots with seeds to grow in their classrooms and the seedlings were transplanted into the garden in May. The 20-by-20-foot garden was created with the help of the Mille Lacs Band's Department of Natural Resources, which built the garden frame, tilled the land and supplied new dirt.
Several other organizations donated money, seeds and gardening equipment and helped Nay Ah Shing secure grants for the project, including Onanegozie Resource, Conservation and Development Association (Mora), Agnew Hardware Hank (Onamia) and Little Farm Market (Brainerd). Several Nay Ah Shing teachers and staff also donated plants for the garden.
"This project has truly been a team effort, as community members, businesses, band members, teachers, staff and students have all played a role in creating a productive garden," Foye said.
Nay Ah Shing Schools are currently working with the band's DNR on a plan to develop another garden bed to grow strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and other fruit next season.
Another "green" project involving Nay Ah Shing students is the creation of a friendship garden (non-produce garden) on the east side of the Mille Lacs Band's government center. Students in grades 2-4 who play on the Petites girls' softball team held a lock-in fundraiser in July to raise money for the friendship garden.
With the help of Mille Lacs Band Tribal Police officers and Nay Ah Shing Activities Director Bugs Haskin, the students planted flowers and shrubs, laid a brick border and built a walkway in the garden. Haskin and the softball team are now planning to work with the tribal police and the Mille Lacs Band DNR to create a vegetable garden at the band's District I assisted living unit. The garden will be raised above the ground level so that elders may sit on the side to more easily tend to the garden. The group plans to build the garden this fall so that it is ready for spring planting time.
The Mille Lacs Band has more than 4,000 enrolled members, for whom it provides a wide variety of programs and services.
To Subscribe to the Brainerd Dispatch, Click Here.
Note: Comments are not edited and don't represent the views of The Brainerd Dispatch. Please read our posting rules in the terms of service policy. To report a post that may be inappropriate, click the triangle alert icon.
|
|
|
|
|
 Top Commented Articles
Over the last 7 days
Most Recent Comments
|
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
Loading...
|
|
|
Today's Best Classifieds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
