In fact, one PTA had the distinction of being featured in American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America, a new book by first lady Michelle Obama. The PTA is from P.S. 107 in Brooklyn, N.Y., which started its Sunshine Garden a few years ago.
The project appealed to the first lady because it helped demonstrate that
any school, including inner-city ones with very little land, can create a garden. And it turns out this same PTA in 2009 won a PTO Today Parent Group of the Year award for Outstanding Major Project for this garden!
Also, school volunteers at Hatch Elementary in Oak Park, Ill., and Renaissance Middle School at Rand in Montclair, N.J., were recognized by the SBLI Superstar Volunteers Program (a joint effort between SBLI and PTO Today) in part for the work they’ve done in getting gardens going at their schools.
These schools demonstrate how a garden project delivers much more than delicious vegetables. The gardens serve as outdoor classrooms where kids and parents can learn about working together and supporting their communities. At Hatch Elementary, for example, volunteers come over the summer to tend the garden, and a sense of community has evolved. At the Renaissance School, parent volunteers have helped the students grow lavender, which they make into sachets and deliver to local senior citizens.
