By Sheila Humphreys

Second graders from Academy School got to share their scratch cooking skills by making beautiful chocolate beet cupcakes, topped with pink frosting tinted with beet juice, for a recent Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) school board meeting. The students also provided an informative poster about beets, including fun facts such as: 

• Beets are called nature’s candy.

• Beets are a superfood!

• You can eat the leaves of the beetroots.

• Beets give you energy.

This delicious treat was just the beginning of a very special Valentine’s Day evening presentation celebrating school gardens, Farm to School programs, and outdoor education in WSESD schools. School board members, school administrators, and community members were all in attendance for this enriching event.

Upon entering, guests were welcomed at a refreshment table staffed by school garden coordinators Tara Gordon (Brattleboro Area Middle School [BAMS], Dummerston, Green Street, and Oak Grove schools) and Kathy Cassin (Academy School), Food Service Director / Sustainability Coordinator Steve Hed (Putney Central School [PCS]), and Sheila Humphreys and Kris Nelson of Food Connects. In addition to the chocolate beet cupcakes, there was a hot herbal tea made with tulsi, mint, and lemon balm grown in the Guilford school garden and sweetened with maple syrup from Guilford Central School's sugaring operation.

Once everyone had an opportunity to taste the garden-inspired treats, the presentation began. Here are some highlights:

• Academy School: Kathy Cassin kicked off the presentation portion of the evening by talking about her robust Harvest of the Month-focused garden, cooking, and nutrition education program. Kathy informed the group about their recent $15,000 Farm to School and Early Childhood Grant from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Farm, and Markets.

• Putney Central School: Steve Hed talked about his passion for getting students involved in growing the food that they eat in the cafeteria. In his unique role as Food Service Director and Sustainability Coordinator, Steve is able to make innovative connections between the classroom, the garden, and the cafeteria.

• Guilford Central School: Sarah Rosow shared about the hands-on gardening, cooking, and nutrition opportunities available to students, including planting, tending, harvesting, and cooking potatoes over a fire in the outdoor classroom and making syrup with students in their small sugaring operation.

• BAMS, Dummerston, Green Street, and Oak Grove Schools: Tara Gordon shared some of the overarching goals of her garden education program, which focuses on native plants, gardening with the non-human community in mind (butterflies, bees, and birds), and integrating art and research into the garden through student-made educational signage.

At the end of the presentation, Mark Speno, Superintendent, summed up the presentation nicely, saying, “It’s really quite amazing to see how all of the gardens in our schools have grown over the years. That’s attributed to the collaboration of our garden coordinators, our teachers engaging in the process, and Sheila (Humphreys) is certainly a leader in our school district, as well. It’s been really nice to see these opportunities increase for students to get outdoors, whether they are in an outlying school or right in the middle of downtown Brattleboro.”

Mr. Speno then opened up the meeting for questions. One question posed by WSESD board member Tim Maciel on behalf of himself and several other members of the community was, “Are there plans to expand this to the high school?” Cassie Damkoehler, principal at Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS), responded, saying that the F.A.R.M.S program (Foundations of Agriculture, Reading, Math, and Social Engagement) has raised garden beds in the courtyard. Additionally, another student recently inquired about starting another garden on campus. At Food Connects, we’re excited to support student and teacher interest in growing Farm to School programming at BUHS!

We’re so grateful for the opportunity to showcase the amazing work that is happening with food, farm, and nutrition education throughout WSESD! To see the whole presentation, check out this recording on BCTV (the school garden presentation is from 4:08 to 23:10. Keep watching for a presentation directly afterward that highlights outdoor education in the district.).