Students from DLC had a wonderful hands-on learning experience this week! They welcomed a new apple tree to the campus, learning exactly how to plant it and what it takes to help it grow and thrive. It was a fantastic lesson in nature and responsibility that our students will get to watch grow for years to come.
It’s a jungle out there! This garden has taken off with reckless abandon. As we wind down the year, our garden is just getting started. Soon we’ll see the shoots and buds that turn into fruits and vegetables. We won’t be here to harvest them, but hopefully people will grab whatever looks tasty.
As we approached the end of the winter months, our teachers and students began preparing the school garden for the upcoming growing season. Even with the colder weather, our school community stayed committed to caring for our outdoor learning space. Students helped clear leaves, remove debris, refresh the soil, and tidy up the raised beds to ensure everything was ready for spring planting.
This early season cleanup gave students hands on experience with garden maintenance while reinforcing teamwork, responsibility, and environmental stewardship. Teachers guided students through identifying winter damage, turning the soil, and learning why preparation is essential for a healthy garden.
We started our garden plants in seed snails and in hydroponics units. We transplanted tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, basil, and string beans into our garden.
We also planted cucumber seeds and have been harvesting chive blossoms, chives, and snap peas. We used our beautiful purple chives to make delicious chive blossom butter which we enjoyed on french baguette. Yum!
We have a few ladybugs lingering in our garden, which were released by our preschool students at the end of their ladybug lifecycle study.
We are excited to share that during the 2025–2026 school year, our school has expanded our existing vegetable garden thanks to the 2025 Kids Dig In Grant. In partnership with Groundwork Elizabeth and the Union County Board of Commissioners, we added a new raised planting bed along with soil, seeds, tools, and additional materials provided through Groundwork Elizabeth’s garden program.
Our students worked alongside Groundwork Elizabeth staff and Union County Commissioner Stanley J. Neron on planting day, actively participating in growing fresh vegetables. We are proud to continue donating a portion of our harvest to the community, strengthening our connection and giving back to those around us.
Our garden continues to enhance our school environment while providing hands-on learning experiences that promote teamwork, environmental responsibility, and healthy habits. We look forward to another successful growing season and sharing our harvest with the community.
With the arrival of this warm weather, our students have stepped away from their desks and into the dirt. Armed with gloves and rakes, and a whole lot of energy, they’ve been hard at work clearing out the old to make room for the new.
We made corn salsa using cilantro from our hydroponics garden. Our chives are in bloom, our snap peas are climbing up the trellis, and our potatoes are growing leaves. We found a rainbow in our garden during our scavenger hunt!
As the warm weather finally arrived, our students eagerly stepped outside to breathe new life into the sensory garden. The air was filled with a sense of renewal as they began the hands-on work of tending to the garden bed and preparing for a new season of growth.
For our young gardeners, the true joy lies in the journey ahead—the patient, daily observation of watching their hard work transform from tiny sprouts into a flourishing landscape of color and texture.
Students of the 5th Grade Environmental Club were thrilled to see leaves return to our new pear tree! Thank you to the Fruitful Futures Grant for the support in growing our food forest.
Last year, a cherry tree was located on our school grounds! Students recently received a lesson on how the flowers of the cherry tree will soon turn to fruit.
