Buffalo Ridge Elementary School (BRE) updated and revamped the school garden this year beginning in January. Laura Brown and Shannon Santos took over as co-chairs of the Buffalo Ridge Education Alliance Garden Committee and together have spearheaded the upgrades: replaced planting beds, installed a watering system, fixed up the weather station and dedicated a flower bed to a student.

“Shannon and I have been the only ones working on it but we hope to rope in volunteers from the school and high schools as well,” added Laura.

Six BRE families sponsored the garden remodel which included tearing out the old planter boxes and railroad tie beds, hauling away the materials and installing new weather-resistant metal garden beds. The new soil was added from a locally-sourced garden bed mix. A sprinkler system was installed which precludes parents from watering the garden over summer break.

Resource Central, a conservation and water-wise company in Boulder, donated three garden-in-a-box kits. Each box contained native, drought-resistant and pollinator-friendly plants, as well as starter herb and vegetable plants.

Early May brought planting: squash, cantaloup, beans, watermelon and corn seeds and more than 200 vegetable plants that had been started by second graders in their classrooms. Students and staff got their hands dirty to help fill the planter boxes.

When school started in August, the garden was thriving. “We harvested over 100 pounds of fresh produce,” said Laura. Much of the bounty was donated to the staff lounge: cucumbers, zucchini, bicolor corn, yellow squash, eggplant, many varieties of peppers, pat-a-pan squash, sugar snap peas, green beans, cabbage and several tomato varieties.

In early September, watermelon was ripe for picking. The Garden Committee set up a table outside the school entrance and offered watermelon samples to students. The sweet treat was a hit. “The overwhelming opinion was that it was the sweetest watermelon they’d ever had!” explained Laura.

Shannon and Laura refreshed the school’s weather station. Originally installed as an Eagle Scout Project in 2019 by former student Sean Sayeedi, the station includes a thermometer, barometer, hygrometer, rain gauge and weathervane.

Additionally, the flower bed at the front of the garden was dedicated to Wesleigh Fortson, a third grader who in 2002, succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 9. Each year since his passing, his mom Toni Merfeld visits BRE and brings potted flowers (see story in the December 2024 issue of The Connection). Going forward, the flowers will be planted in Wesleigh’s memorial garden.

The BRE garden still has some unfinished projects. The perimeter fence, gates and benches all need to be repaired or replaced, including adding additional seating. There are plans and space for additional garden beds to host berries. Educational signs about water conservation, nutrition, pollination and high-altitude gardening are all part of the ongoing plan for the garden space.

A fundraiser with all proceeds going towards the ongoing garden projects is happening this fall: BRE families can purchase bricks with personalized dedications. The bricks will be laid at the front entrance to the school.

For more information, visit bre.dcsdk12.org.

 

By Celeste McNeil; photos courtesy of Laura Brown and Rene Santin