RED RIBBON WEEK BEGINS!

Those red tulips we plant now with thoughts of healthy choices, bloom in the spring to remind us of our resolve to lead healthy, drug-free lives. We'll have them popping up all over campus!

NEWS FROM THE GARDENS

Upcoming Events:

THE FALL DISTRICT GARDEN MEETING will be held at Birch Lane Oct. 13. Representatives from Davis Farm to School and each Davis school garden and recycling program meet to share ideas. We'll have a tour to show off our lively and lovely campus.

RED RIBBON WEEK: Begins October 17. Each child has the opportunity to plant a red tulip that blooms in the spring to remind us all to make healthy choices in our lives.

THE SCARECROW BREAKFAST:  Wed. October 26  A tradition at Birch Lane where children make scarecrows at home and bring them in to display in the quad. Scarecrow photos!

Classes build scarecrows to sell through a silent auction with proceeds going back to the classroom.

We’d love to see scarecrows made to resemble characters from favorite books!

Our Gardens:

EDIBLE GARDENING: Gardening is well on its way (planting peas, lettuce, garlic, broccoli, kale, carrots, beets, etc.) and we have some great new garden volunteers. 

Seed is being harvested: Amaranth, calendula, basil, sunflowers and hollyhocks.
Nutrition activities have included: Taste testing apples, pesto, breads, garlic bread and "Stone Soup".

THE LUNCH TIME GARDEN CLUB on Fridays 11:30 to 1:00 with Debra Ariola and David Creamer. We’ve made leaf rubbings and leaf prints, and last week, ladybugs out of small river rocks with acrylic paint. We’re preparing our Garden Club bed and will be planting soon.

NEW GARDENS: Kirk Hagan from Ms. Yate's class and Manny Boulter from Ms. White's class have removed the buckled pavement from around the trees in front of their classes to enlarge and raise them up to make for more successful gardening there. 

"ADOPT A GARDEN" has begun! Hoping to have some more help. Stacia Langley just cleaned up the Velma Lagerstrom Native Garden last week and Hope Sippola has adopted the South Garden this fall.

Remember you can find us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/birchlane.gardens

ADOPT A GARDEN AREA at Birch Lane

This year folks can help out our school by "Adopting a Garden".  These are gardens that are not maintained by the school district or by classes; they are outdoor learning areas and campus beautification projects.  By adopting a garden you can choose Fall,Winter or Spring to be responsible for an area.

As our Classroom Garden Volunteers get starting working with our kids, we can give support by taking care of other parts of the landscape at Birch Lane Elementary. Please click on the links below to sign up to help

             
              The MPR Gardens
              The Arboretum Gardens and Fence line
              The Castle Courtyard
              The Geo Garden
              The Compost and Worm Bin area
              The South Garden

              The Kindergarten Play Area
              The California Native Garden

LET’S GET IT STARTED!

It’s that time again, and many have been busy in Birch Lane Gardens already! School starts up a week from today, and our gardens are looking great due to the summer care they received from: Soji Howe, Tara Diel, Carol Joyce, Stephanie Moss, Eleanor, Robyn Waxman, Craig and Autumn Labbe-Renault, Angie Purves, Cathy Ishikawa, Shari Walter, Michele Long, Rosanne Testerman, Anna May Testerman and Karen Farley… I may have missed someone, and if so please let me know! GREAT work people J

Most of the classes will have something to harvest as soon as they get garden volunteers to get gardening happening! I’m seeing a lot of basil and tomatoes, with corn, squash and beans (Three Sisters) in there as well! Take some time to tour the gardens, and let me know if you want me to lead it!

For those with gardens ready to plant, here is a fall vegetable planting chart to check out: http://redwoodbarn.com/PDF/fallvegchart.pdf  We need to start seeds ASAP in the DHS greenhouse. There’s also some general housekeeping we need to get done before next week.

So, let's get it started!

Thanks,

Debra Ariola

If you’re interested in helping the garden program in any way, please contact Garden Coordinator Debra Ariola at: blgardeners@sbcglobal.net, or leave a note in the Birch Lane Office.

SUMMER GARDEN CARE @ BIRCH LANE

Our gardens are sustained throughout the summer so that harvest can happen when our children return in the fall. I'd like to have as many of us involved as possible, so that we have a presence at Birch Lane during the summer, and so that the work and the harvests are shared!

• The MPR Gardens
• The Arboretum Gardens and Fenceline
• The Castle Courtyard
• The Geo Garden
• The Compost and Worm Bin area
• The Gardens under the Trees
• The South Garden
• The Kindergarten Boxes
• The Native Garden

 

Spring Fling and Tour de Cluck this Saturday!

We'll have loads of fun this Saturday at Birch Lane with our Spring Fling Carnival and Silent Auction coinciding with the Tour de Cluck Chicken Coop Tour of Davis!

• Judy Leatherman and her Old Timey Fiddling Group will be playing chicken themed music.
• We'll have items for sale to benefit the school gardens including goodies, plants and jewelry.
• Dorothy Peterson will be on hand to talk about the school garden programs and Davis Farm to School.
• Davis High students will have information about chickens and FFA to share.
• Our gardens will be on display for folks to get an idea of how our campus can be used for garden based education. Debra Ariola will be available for general gardening questions.

This is all in addition to all the wonderful activities happening all over campus! Don't miss the fun, it should be memorable :)

A busy week ahead gearing up for Spring Fling and the Tour de Cluck on Sat. May 14!

We joined the Tour de Cluck "Clucksters" in the parade at Picnic Day this year as we draw attention to Davis Farm to School Foundation and the fact that we have the first elementary school chicken coop in Davis! We are on the tour this year.... bwaaak!!

While showing off our gardens this week with a DF2SF garden tour Wednesday and the festivities on Saturday, garden volunteers are getting busy with students planting our classroom gardens! Irrigation is getting repaired and planting is happening now, so that plants will be established and producing when school returns in August. Fall harvest of loads of fresh food is the goal.

Wednesday morning at drop-off garden folks will meet in room 6 for discussions about plantings, irrigation, Spring Fling, Tour de Cluck and garden art.  I will go over simple drip system repair, planting for harvest, special events and fun garden art. Please come if you can and if you have the time this week I'll put you to work, sharing with you my list of things to do...
Thanks,

Deb