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Jane Neil Elementary School Gets A Second Garden

By Wendell Hutson | September 26, 2014 8:11am
 Jane Neil Elementary School in Chatham has two gardens and is planning for a third one in 2015.
School Gardens
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CHATHAM — Jane Neil Elementary School unveiled a new garden to parents Thursday, less than two months after its first garden was completed.

Principal Tawanna Knox said both gardens would serve as a service-learning project for her students.

"These gardens will build up the school and the community and that's wonderful," Knox said.

The South Side school, 8555 S. Michigan Ave., where nearly half of the 381 students have special needs, is now planning for a third garden for next year, according to science teacher Valerie Hardy.

"The Lord has been good to us by blessing us with a second garden," said Hardy, who in June began spearheading the garden project. "Now we are in line to get a third one."

Earlier this year Hardy said the school received a $3,800 Lowe's Toolbox for Education grant.

Hardy said she got the idea for the garden project after students told her they would like to have one.

"This [garden] all got started from the students," Hardy said.

The latest garden was made possible with a grant to the school, said Hardy, adding that the Chicago Board of Education sponsored it. The nonprofit Kitchen Community built the garden, and students and volunteers will help maintain it.

"It was the students who planted seeds and helped lay soil in the [garden] beds," said Stephanie Kichler, a spokeswoman for Kitchen Community. "The kids are really excited to see what will become of the vegetables they planted."

Students should start to see results in about three weeks when stubs will begin to stick up from the soil, Kichler said.

After attending an Open House on Thursday, parents went outside to view the new garden.

Wendy Porter, a 25-year Chatham resident, had three children who attended Neil and currently has two grandchildren at the school.

"I think this is a good idea for the kids and the community, seeing that it is a community garden. It's cool for children to learn how to grow food," Porter said. "This is something creative for them to do."

When Erica Taylor-Powell attended Neil in 1998 it only went to sixth grade. Now the 28-year-old mother has children in pre-kindergarten and third grade at the school.

"I think it's awesome that we're bring gardening back into the community. I think it is a nice asset to the school," Taylor-Powell said. "Hopefully it will change their eating habits and they will want to eat more healthy foods and not all that junk food they crave for."

LaRue Murray has a 14-year-old son at Neil and has lived in Chatham for nine years.

"I like this garden because it gives [students] something to do with their hands," Murray said.

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