Recent News

Program Highlight: Garden Club

November 2012 - Issue 2

S. Dzula - PEP Grant is incorporating

the City of Chilhowee into the

Chilhowee Schools with communication,

education, and community awareness

placed at the top of our children’s

learning and fitness experience.

Garden Club is one of several

opportunities for the students to gain

knowledge in skills in health.
Garden Club is offered as a

summer program. It started in May 2012. The objective of the Garden Club was for the kids to learn how to grow healthy food, care for a garden and the Chilhowee Park, and to learn how to prepare food to be shared with others.
     For 2012, fourteen boys and girls signed up ranging from Kindergarten to high school juniors. The Chilhowee Parks Board agreed to allow the Garden Club to have four garden boxes. The City’s original planting day is the last Saturday in April, so two boxes had already been planted with cucumbers and tomatoes. The donation was gratefully accepted, and on June 4th, the kids joined together for the first time to plant corn and green beans in the other two boxes.
     During summer school the bunch divided into two groups. After finishing a walk and caring for the gardens, students held meetings. The groups agreed on a name for their club, and it became officially known as the Indians Garden Club. They painted rocks to place at the garden boxes, and the Chilhowee Parks Board watered the garden boxes twice a week for our students. This was a much needed contribution during the summer of serious drought.
     Those who could make it to town, they worked through heat and did an excellent job. The vegetables that were picked were taken home and shared with family members. When school resumed in the fall the entire group began the harvesting process. After gathering green beans, cleaning, breaking, and freezing them, we put all of them together and cooked up a BIG mess of beans. These and tomatoes were shared with the faculty.
     The Indian Garden Club members also won awards! They entered cucumbers, tomatoes, and corn on the cob were entered into the Chilhowee Fair and received two red ribbons. As the work came to an end, the group walked to the park one last time to clean out the garden boxes. The last meeting of this year was ended with a colossal Halloween Party. “A well deserved treat for such hard working kids,” Ms. Sharon notes.
     Although Garden Club is done for 2012, it will begin meeting in spring of 2013. Look for the flyers and announcements in late April or early May!