The Teton Valley Community School
The farm and garden program at Teton Valley Community School has grown over the past 5 years to become an amazing component of the curriculum at this small local private school. Students, from pre-school up to 6th grade, are involved in every step of maintaining a large on site garden. The students also grow tomatoes, basil and peppers in a small greenhouse. Due to the amazing involvement of students, teachers, and parents, the school also cares for a flock of hens! The garden program plays a role in every child's school day. Each day, students collect eggs and feed and water the hens. These delicious, organic eggs are for sale to the public for $5 a dozen. The large garden is a space for open exploration, play, hands-on learning, and of course, delicious snacks!
The garden, while under a thick blanket of snow for several months of every school year, is always an important part of school culture. During winter, students will cook food preserved from the garden or taste new varieties of vegetables. Tasting and trying new foods and recipes helps students plan out the next season's garden. Students choose seeds to order from various catalogs as well as save and package seeds from plants harvested and dried from the previous season. Students plant the garden each spring and continue to maintain and care for their plants with the help of campers during summer vacation. The highlight of the garden season comes in early October when the entire school enjoys the fall harvest by preparing, cooking, and eating at a large outdoor "Harvest Party"!
Teachers are currently considering adding a new animal to the farm and garden program. We are currently considering adding sheep, alpacas or pigs to the school farm. All of the components of the farm and garden program link closely to our goals of building skills in using plants and animals for food and other resources. Even our youngest students can understand that our animals need to have a job and that some animals are for eating! We pride ourselves on taking great care of all of the plants and animals on our school farm in Victor!
The garden, while under a thick blanket of snow for several months of every school year, is always an important part of school culture. During winter, students will cook food preserved from the garden or taste new varieties of vegetables. Tasting and trying new foods and recipes helps students plan out the next season's garden. Students choose seeds to order from various catalogs as well as save and package seeds from plants harvested and dried from the previous season. Students plant the garden each spring and continue to maintain and care for their plants with the help of campers during summer vacation. The highlight of the garden season comes in early October when the entire school enjoys the fall harvest by preparing, cooking, and eating at a large outdoor "Harvest Party"!
Teachers are currently considering adding a new animal to the farm and garden program. We are currently considering adding sheep, alpacas or pigs to the school farm. All of the components of the farm and garden program link closely to our goals of building skills in using plants and animals for food and other resources. Even our youngest students can understand that our animals need to have a job and that some animals are for eating! We pride ourselves on taking great care of all of the plants and animals on our school farm in Victor!
Teton Middle School
Teton Middle School cares for a large 30' by 17' polycarbonate greenhouse. Teton High School construction students, led by Mark Hansen, did an amazing job building the greenhouse from the ground up. The siding was completed in the summer of 2011 with the help of volunteers.
During the Summer and Fall, the greenhouse is full of delicious tomatoes, peppers, herbs and cucumbers. The Junior Master Gardeners help to care for the greenhouse while school is out for the summer. They even created a beautiful pizza garden in the center of the greenhouse with peppers, sauce tomatoes, wheat, spinach, basil, and oregano.
The 7th grade team of teachers has worked closely with Full Circle Education to utilize the greenhouse to its full educational potential. We work with students, learning about crop breeding, seed saving and soil health.
Everyone asks us how we deal with growing food year round, in a place where winter is long, cold and snowy! The greenhouse does an amazing job of trapping radiation from the sun for heat. A great way for students to see first hand concepts of energy dynamics! Last Fall, the Life Skills class from the High School next door planted an array of delicious greens that were ready for harvest in mid-March. The fresh greens were a hit with students at the cafeteria! We love showing students how delicious fresh food is, and how easy it is for them to grow it themselves using the help of only sun, soil, water and air!
We still need help to maintain this greenhouse! Donations of money, tools, garden equipment, etc. are all needed and appreciated. If you can further support of this project, please send your gift of any size to:
Full Circle Education
PO Box 585
Driggs ID 83422.
Thank you!
During the Summer and Fall, the greenhouse is full of delicious tomatoes, peppers, herbs and cucumbers. The Junior Master Gardeners help to care for the greenhouse while school is out for the summer. They even created a beautiful pizza garden in the center of the greenhouse with peppers, sauce tomatoes, wheat, spinach, basil, and oregano.
The 7th grade team of teachers has worked closely with Full Circle Education to utilize the greenhouse to its full educational potential. We work with students, learning about crop breeding, seed saving and soil health.
Everyone asks us how we deal with growing food year round, in a place where winter is long, cold and snowy! The greenhouse does an amazing job of trapping radiation from the sun for heat. A great way for students to see first hand concepts of energy dynamics! Last Fall, the Life Skills class from the High School next door planted an array of delicious greens that were ready for harvest in mid-March. The fresh greens were a hit with students at the cafeteria! We love showing students how delicious fresh food is, and how easy it is for them to grow it themselves using the help of only sun, soil, water and air!
We still need help to maintain this greenhouse! Donations of money, tools, garden equipment, etc. are all needed and appreciated. If you can further support of this project, please send your gift of any size to:
Full Circle Education
PO Box 585
Driggs ID 83422.
Thank you!
Tetonia Elementary School
Tetonia Elementary School has been a partner school for 4 years! The outdoor classroom was jump-started with a hoophouse style greenhouse purchased by Full Circle Education, and each year since, it has housed tomatoes and basil during the summer and greens, carrots, even wheat during the school year! The outdoor butterfly garden is home to insect-friendly plants as well as benches and a new composter! The outdoor classroom is led by an amazing PTO committee and involved teachers. See the recent Teton Valley News article on our Press Releases and News page about this great student program.
Field Trips
We offer field trips for any local classroom or group. The Fall harvest season is a great time for local students to visit local farms and learn first-hand about where food comes from! We lead amazing educational experiences at Cosmic Apple Gardens and Snowdrift Farm!
