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Farm to School Coordinator Francey Slater, right, assigns groups of White River Valley Elementary third graders to different steps in the process of surrounding the school’s new raised garden beds with wood chips in South Royalton, Vt., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Students are helping to build and plant the new garden. (Valley News – James M. Patterson) -
Aaron Welch, 9, tries to control a wheelbarrow of woodchips while spreading them as mulch to keep weeds down around a new raised-bed garden at White River Valley Elementary School in South Royalton, Vt., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Valley News – James M. Patterson) -
White River Valley Elementary third graders Tenley Rogers, 9, left, Pavla Ballou, 9, middle, and Stella Ballou, 9, work together to fill containers with wood chips while buiding a garden at the school in South Royalton, Vt., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. The mulch will be spread around raised beds to keep grass and weeds down. (Valley News – James M. Patterson) -
Emmett Hoyt, 9, shovels wood chips onto cardboard surrounding newly built white cedar raised beds at White River Valley Elementary School South Royalton, Vt., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Students at the school are helping to build the new garden. (Valley News – James M. Patterson)
SOUTH ROYALTON — White River Valley Elementary School third graders gathered around a picnic table sorting and organizing packets of vegetable, herb and flower seeds on a warm, sunny May afternoon.
“Who needs spinach? I have cucumbers? Lettuce over here,” the students said as they passed the packets back and forth, separating them into stacks.
Their excitement grew as they thought about what each one wanted to plant and grow. Watermelon was a popular choice, as were cucumbers and carrots.
Myah Locke, 9, had a different preference.
“I really hope we can grow leeks,” said Myah. “I really like leeks and grow them at home.”
Nearby, a second team of students were kneeling over a large sheet of white grid paper, carefully mapping each of the 10 raised beds behind them with a black marker and ruler. Each square on the grid was equal to one foot of the 4-by-4-foot and 8-by-4-foot beds, which were a few feet tall. Finally, a third group of students in the physical education class were busy shoveling dirt into five-gallon buckets, As each one was filled, a student would lug it to one of the beds and dump in the contents.
The work session by the third graders is part of the Farm to School project at the elementary school, which is focused on teaching them about growing and eating locally produced food.
“We bring kids outside to this garden to do more food education so they will understand where food comes from, how to grow it from seed, to caring, weeding, watering and harvesting,” said Francy Slater, the Farm to School coordinator at the school.
This is Slater’s second year as coordinator. Last year, she laid the groundwork for the program, including securing funding from grants and other sources, and this year, “we are putting things in motion.”
On a Sunday in late April, parents, children and staff spent a few hours building the 10 raised beds from white cedar, a wood that is more rot-resistant than other types.
“We expect they will last 10 to 12 years,” Slater said.
Once the beds were complete, they were filled from piles of soil and compost over the next few weeks. Wood chips from a third pile were spread around the beds.
“We have the kids out here most days, digging, raking and shoveling,” Slater said.
Natalee Cross, 9, was happy the group built new garden beds because the previous ones were about to collapse, she said, pointing to a pile of old wood under a nearby tree.
Natalee and the other students had their favorites when it came to planting, which was done in early May, a week after the students chose the seeds.
“I want to plant flowers, maybe cucumbers,” Natalee said, adding that the group also wants to plant the “three sisters,” a term that refers to corn, beans and squash grown by Native Americans.
Zach Parker, 9, was planning on corn, watermelon, carrots and cucumbers. For Emmett Hoyt, who lives on a farm, the choice was watermelon and cucumbers.
Slater said they will be planning a series of “garden drop-ins” over the summer so the bed can be weeded and the plants watered and cared for while the crops grow.
“Parents, kids, anyone in the community who wants to, can come and help out,” Slater said.
Having children grow vegetables from seed and experience the entire process to harvest, can enhance the likelihood they will want to eat foods that are often not a child’s favorite, Slater said.
“Exposing them to foods in a different setting can help them become more comfortable with them,” Slater said. “Here, we are giving kids a chance to learn firsthand where food comes from and you have to water and weed. It tastes that much sweeter because you grew it.”
The other piece to the Farm to School program is making connections with area food producers and having more local food on cafeteria menus by working with food hubs, farmers and local producers, Slater said.
“Our strategy is to maximize the amount we budget for local food,” she said.
As the outdoor class ended with the mapping complete and the selection of seeds finalized for planting, Slater noted the diversity of vegetables and flowers chosen with different colors, textures and flavors.
Zack Parker is looking forward to the harvest in the fall.
“I like this because when we are done, we can make a dish to eat,” he said.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
