Leverett Education Foundation sees support for greenhouse improvements

Oct. 13, 2021 | Doc Pruyne

Greenhouse Director Dawn Ward stands by the threshold to the Leverett Elementary School Greenhouse.
Reminder Publishing photo by Doc Pruyne

LEVERETT – The greenhouse at Leverett Elementary School had a mysterious night visitor. The visitor dug a hole in a vegetable bed.

“I waited to see what would poke out,” said Dawn Ward, greenhouse director. “It was a tiny snapping turtle. They’ve been hatching since Saturday …They crawl out of the bed and they’re all walking around the floor of the greenhouse. We’ve had painted turtles lay their eggs here, too. We have a vernal pool right next to the greenhouse, which is a nice addition to the program.”

Ward’s program, where kids get their hands dirty in the greenhouse, complements regular classroom time at Leverett Elementary School. Now the pandemic has boosted greenhouse use, and wear and tear, as more kids dig in the indoor beds and herd baby snappers.

“When COVID struck, the school needed to find a way to educate kids out-of-doors, as much as possible,” said Steve Weiss, president of the Leverett Education Foundation. “There’s a great deal of enthusiasm at the school for expanding outdoor education.”
The education foundation is in the midst of a fundraising drive to pay for repairs and upgrades to the greenhouse program, which may outgrow the greenhouse itself.

“I do greenhouse recess and it has gotten so big,” Ward said. “I get 25 to 30 kids now. Before COVID[-19] I had 14 to 15 kids … and I’ve expanded it to include the environments, the stream down below, and we’ll take trips to Leverett Pond.”

Ten years of heavy usage has taken a toll. Weiss said the funding drive received donations from Grass Roots Landscaping, Dean’s Beans, Earthworks, and a sizable gift from West Branch Capital. People’s Bank made a large grant to build the greenhouse and recently followed that with a large donation for upkeep.

“One family in town offered a $500 matching grant,” Weiss said. “It’s another indication of the support we’re getting.”

The LEF’s fundraising drive raised $8,000, with a goal of $2,000 more. Weiss said donations will cover new plastic roofing, built-in irrigation, shelving, benches, chairs, wagons, a new tool shed, and basic supplies of fertilizer and compost. The intent is to do more outdoor learning, to take advantage of the natural world around the school, part of the Leverett ecosystem.

Weiss explained, “The school borders Brushy Mountain and in the 19th century it was the site of many farms. Teachers have been going up on Brushy Mountain, not only for science reasons, but also social studies, to help the kids understand what life was like in Leverett 200 years ago … When you go up there and see the cellar holes and stone walls, it gives a greater sense of the tangible. The kids ask, what did it take to build a hundred feet of stone walls? What did it take to live in Leverett 200 years ago?”

Then as now, they needed to eat vegetables. Ward, however, emphasized the dinner plate is not the only reason to study farming and gardening.

“I want the kids to see the beauty and diversity of nature,” Ward said. “There’s more to a plant than having it in your salad.”

A greenhouse open house and nature walk is slated for Oct. 23. Donations to the greenhouse fundraising drive can be made at leveretteducationfoundation.org.

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