Riverview Elementary - Growing Sustainable Gardens Through Education

Online, May 27, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The PTSA of Riverview Elementary located in Lakeside California team up with Parents, students, and local community members to teach kids the benefits of growing sustainable. Riverview Elementary is infused with essential 21st century learning skills including world language instruction, technology, critical thinking, and creativity.

Suzanne Cox, who heads up the garden committee, worked with Principal Olympia Kyriakidis and school district to get a green light on the project. This Spring through the help of parent volunteers, students, and local business a 2,000 sq' garden sustainable garden was built at the school. It was the efforts of many that brought this project to life.

The help of the Riverview PTSA along with members of the garden committee, teachers, fundraisers, and local business the project was a go! Community business Alpine Rock and Block, Hydroscpae, Color Spot, Lakeside Garden Club, Pharmgrade, San Diego Victory Gardens helped make the learning experience a reality. The school collected donation item like compost, retaining wall material, wood chip bark, recycled cement planters, Pharmgrade's organic fertilizer, seeds, vegetable starts, tools, and more. The vision was to create an environment where kids, teachers, parents, and the community can learn the benefits of growing Organic.

Organic growing requires hands on experience. Suzanne Cox, Garden Chairperson states "Our program is designed to teach the values of organic growing." Students are given weekly lessons in watering, cleaning, and fertilizing. Each student learns watering techniques for optimal growing conditions, when to plant vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees. The program has its own composting system on campus to recycle where students recycle for future soil blends. Overall, the students benefit from a well rounded lessons in gardening. What better way to learn the fundamentals of sustainable organic growing than by getting your hands dirty!

The school's first harvest crop of corn, tomatoes, squash, strawberries, peppers, herbs, and more will be available to community through their first Farmers Market. Riverview is one of many schools working hard to teach our future generations the value of growing sustainable. Teaching our kids of today how to Recycle, Renew, and Sustain for themselves is priceless. These values are important to pass on and provide our children's, children the knowledge of growing organic and taking produce to market for others.