Buckfield middle school teachers Gretchen Kimball and Annette Caldwell were honored last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture with a prestigious national award for Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture.
The truly excellent part is that middle schoolers learn their lessons in agriculture the right way, by putting their hands in the soil, planting seeds and — quite literally — reaping the rewards of their labor.
Several years ago, students and staff at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School planted a school garden, prominently sited on the front lawn of the school where passersby can see their work bloom.
In the beginning, the garden was designed to provide fresh vegetables for the school cafeteria to boost healthy food choices. As the garden plot grew, community members were invited to partake in the harvest, and the positive feedback encouraged students to work harder, eventually adding a greenhouse to the public plot.
Next year, Kimball and Caldwell plan to add a beekeeping operation at the school to pollinate crops, but also to teach students apiary science.
Other schools have mimicked Buckfield’s project, which has become a year-round student, staff and volunteer effort. In cold months the garden is planned, and come spring it is planted. Through the summer and into the fall the garden is tended and, eventually, harvested before the cycle begins anew.
Just like any backyard garden or any commercial agriculture operation.
Kimball is an language arts teacher; Caldwell teaches math. They bring these lessons to the school garden, but the real lessons here are ones of sustenance, self-sufficiency and community.
That’s life, and that’s what is being taught in Buckfield’s garden.
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