Middle School Gardens

New Prague Middle School Gardens

There are two garden initiatives at NPMS. The first started out as three 4 x 8 raised garden beds and it has now grown to 10 garden beds. Summer school students plant fruits and veggies of their choosing after learning about square foot gardening. Each student gets at least one square foot to plant whatever they would like or they can collaborate with their classmates to plant together more spaces. Throughout the summer produce is gathered and shared with staff, students and the Peace Center. This summer we have donated 22 pounds of produce. The produce has been used on the school lunch line, providing fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and watermelon for student lunches.

The other initiative is a pollinator garden that Debbie Trewartha, Middle School science teacher and Dave Sticha of D&J Landscaping created with the help of youth from FaithPoint Lutheran Church early this summer. A grant from the School Yard Gardens, sponsored by The Monarch Lab, with support from the United States Forest Service and the National Science Foundation was used to purchase the plants. Roughly 150 plants were planted at the end of bus loop in hopes of creating a pollinator garden that can be used for classroom instruction. The idea is for students to use the garden to expand their observation and questioning techniques and then use their questions to develop a field study.