Maine Farm & Sea to School
Alan Day Community Garden is part of the Maine Farm and Sea to School Network, in partnership with Robert's Farm. Farm to School incorporates agricultural based education, hands-on learning through school gardens, and increased access to fresh, local foods. Farm to school strategies are shown to improve fruit and vegetable consumption, increase knowledge about food origins, improve academic achievement, and support the local economy.
We would like to invite classrooms at Rowe Elementary to visit the Alan Day Community Garden to participate in the following service learning projects. These activities can be tailored for 2nd through 6th grade students. We suggest visits of approximately one hour. Additionally, you are welcome to bring lunch and eat under the pavilion.
Here are some of the activities that we have to offer, weather and time permitting:
Tour the Garden: Come see all that Alan Day Community Garden has to offer! Participate in a garden scavenger hunt, use map skills to navigate the food forest, identify plants, and learn about perennial vs annual crops.
Soil Exploration: Explore how soil is made, learn about compost, determine soil quality, and learn how to enrich it.
Life Cycle of Plants: Dissect seeds, observe roots, how water flows through a plant, and learn best practices to keep your garden growing strong.
Garden Creatures: Learn about the importance of pollinators, discover which garden critters are friends, and how to manage others that are not so helpful.
Origins of Food and Food Systems: Identify the plants that a variety of foods are derived from, develop awareness of why and what we eat, and discuss various food systems.
Cooking Classes: Once our licensed kitchen is up and running in 2023 we will offering cooking classes. Stay tuned!
Garden Tasks: TBD, seasonally appropriate.
If you are interested in planning a visit, please email programs@alandaycommunitygarden.org. We hope to see you at the Garden!