tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53380288668224429832024-03-06T00:16:28.889-08:00Kids, Community, and FoodThe What and The Why in My LifeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-58166958156533662412019-12-31T12:26:00.000-08:002018-10-28T09:45:40.879-07:00Importance of Creating Great Outdoor Learning Spaces at SchoolsRecently I was asked to share why the Tillman IGNITE project is important to me. It's been a busy couple weeks, so I procrastinated, of course. But, because I didn't have time to wordsmith, I found I was pretty darn honest with my response. And in the interest of using this platform more fully than I have in the past, I thought I'd share. So...
Lots of reasons I'm drawn to outdoor ed, Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-31423230192893113292018-07-17T19:04:00.002-07:002018-07-17T19:04:05.463-07:00Rejuvenation from Road Trip to Ithaca
I said yes to a trip last week to a youth gardening conference at Cornell to see if it would reignite this burned out volunteer. I'm happy to report that it did, and that I got to go with one of my best friends. I also went on the trip because I made a promise to myself in April of this year that for the next year I'd be intentional about spending time with inspiring women. I'mAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0Ithaca, NY, USA42.4439614 -76.50188070000001542.397090399999996 -76.582561700000014 42.4908324 -76.421199700000017tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-68275704475941407902016-12-08T11:16:00.001-08:002016-12-08T11:16:22.362-08:00Time for an Honest Dialogue
Like a lot of people, I've been thinking a lot about politics, government, and our country in general in the month since the presidential election. Anyone who knows me won't be surprised to hear that I wasn't happy about Donald Trump's election. I've got some strong misgivings about Trump's cabinet choices, but have been trying to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. And I've been trying to think of Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-62095521187860657312016-02-29T08:11:00.001-08:002016-02-29T08:11:24.585-08:00Pastured Poultry Means More than Free RangeI've known for a long time that "Cage Free" on a carton of eggs doesn't mean much. That "Cage Free" chickens have marginally better living quarters than the chickens whose eggs are sold without any fanfare at the grocery store. But I thought that "Free Range" meant something more, that it meant what it sounds like (chickens roaming outside for food) and so I've been shelling out the cash for Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-329375490389091732016-02-16T12:18:00.001-08:002016-02-16T12:18:16.086-08:00Tillman IGNITE has me all fired up!The last couple of weeks were a typical story-line for me when it comes to (not) writing in this blog. So many awesome things happened that would be worthy of a post, but they happened in rapid succession and then I posted about none of them. So....turning over a new leaf right now.
I've been working for about three years now at Tillman Elementary in Kirkwood, MO to support an increase in Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-18481317826414131962015-09-13T10:49:00.001-07:002015-10-15T11:04:27.093-07:00Let's Do Something
I’m writing this to encourage white people in my home town of St. Louis to engage in fixing messed up systems fraught with racial bias and systemic inequality. I’m writing to recommend they attend an awesome event that will help change St. Louis systems so that racial equality actually has a chance here. I’m also writing to challenge any white folks who don’t already see that our society Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-65608296118754032972014-12-15T12:05:00.000-08:002014-12-15T13:03:59.984-08:00Next Generation Science StandardsGive the pupils something to do, not something to learn, and the
doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally
results.
-John Dewey
I learned a lot about the Next Generation Science Standards last week, and found a resource that I thought anybody in elementaryAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-14099560561423861082014-09-10T09:29:00.002-07:002014-09-10T09:29:24.209-07:00Benefits of School GardeningDenver Urban Gardens, or DUG, compiled some research findings about the benefits of school gardens. This is a great resource for those of us who are school garden advocates. The studies cited were all published between 2002 and 2012, so there is some fairly current stuff in there. If you're not already convinced that school gardens should be widely used in every school, check out the link below.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-75391097552658030902014-09-05T06:27:00.000-07:002014-09-05T06:58:26.397-07:00Race and Our CommunitySo, I live about 20 minutes from Ferguson in a pretty darn white suburb of St. Louis. Since Michael Brown was killed, I can't stop thinking about that whole situation--but even more so just how entrenched this city is in de facto segregation and systemic racism. I've been reluctant to write about it on here, in part because my feelings of sadness and confusion about how to make a difference have Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-8465110284924367052014-08-22T09:03:00.002-07:002014-08-22T09:03:44.004-07:00Too Many Zukes?If you're a gardener or a CSA subscriber, chances are high that you are inundated with zucchini right about now. This summer I've grilled it, hidden it in spaghetti sauce, made zucchini brownies, and frozen gobs of it for use this winter. After all that, I still can't seem to clear my crisper drawers of the stuff!
On the verge of anonymously dumping some on my neighbors' porches, I found a Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-61499430601602075742014-07-15T15:40:00.001-07:002014-07-15T15:55:16.960-07:00The Garden Has Gone to the Dogs!
I love this garden almost as much as I love my canines, so I had to let them meet. This spring everything took OFF and looked great here at Tillman. It's now mid-July and things planted on the "heat island" are starting to struggle.
(Except the chard and the kale--is there anything these vegetables can't do?!)
I expected this impact from putting a bunch of raised beds onAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-89054661849675083772014-03-30T17:29:00.000-07:002014-07-03T06:40:35.584-07:00Eating for Sustainability: Last One for AwhileI've been trying to muster up motivation to write more about our weekly meals and grocery costs, but I can't seem to and here's why. Tallying receipts has gotten to be a pain in the rear, and I have bigger fish to fry. Seriously, though, it is a pain. And because it's finally spring and because we are wrapping up this first planning/design phase for Tillman's sustainability committee, my time Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-27788556902955485712014-02-20T08:07:00.003-08:002014-02-20T08:21:43.030-08:00Eating for Sustainability: CSAs defined + 6-week recapFor the past 6 weeks, I have been experimenting to see if our family could shift our food consumption to almost all local and/or organic without spending more on groceries than we did at the start. In the beginning, we ate a fair amount of processed food, frequently bought non-organic produce, and wasted more food than I would have thought. I guesstimated that our original weekly grocery spendingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-31901670444064642982014-02-06T12:36:00.004-08:002014-02-06T12:51:00.391-08:00One Month In--Eating for Sustainability Pt. 5This week I spent $150 in groceries, same as last week. I will keep tallying, but I'm feeling more and more confident that my average weekly bill won't exceed $200, even when I've transitioned to all organic or local. However, I am still amazed by the amount of food I am able to cull from the cupboards each week. This week I dug up some old pancake mix, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-54792807124374435162014-01-31T19:52:00.000-08:002014-01-31T19:56:03.982-08:00Eating for Sustainability: An Experiment Pt. 4
Meals kept truckin' along this week, and I think I'm about out of the woods when it comes to heavily processed foods in my pantry. Super Bowl Sunday should take care of that once and for all, don't you think? As for my grocery bill this week....$150! Yes! And that even included a store-bought carrot cake for Kyle's birthday dinner, because, frankly, presentation just Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-87339238423908129682014-01-26T08:12:00.000-08:002014-01-26T08:18:53.876-08:00Collecting Kids' Ideas at TillmanSo, I'm hoping this post will give you a snapshot of why I think what the Sustainability Committee at Tillman Elementary is doing is so exciting. I always say that I am a school gardener, but what I'm a part of is really more holistic than that. My crew and I care about the health of both people and the planet, we try to include as many perspectives as possible, and we are operating Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-74357488360548814232014-01-23T09:02:00.000-08:002014-01-23T11:42:40.411-08:00Eating for Sustainability: An Experiment Pt. 3
This week has been really enlightening. I know what's in my crisper drawers. I'm saving most things before they go to waste. And I'm using up pre-packaged snacks and meals left and right. I certainly don't feel like I've had to spend excessive time cooking, so that's fun. I feel good about getting a lot of highly processed food out of my house. And I created a few meals from scratch. Some of Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-2121560036760910712014-01-16T09:46:00.001-08:002014-01-16T09:47:01.905-08:00Eating for Sustainability: An Experiment Pt. 2Last week I embarked on an adventure to track food expenses and cooking habits to see if I can cut costs while increasing consumption of local and organic food. My focus this week has largely been to use up as much perishable food already in my house as possible. Next week, the focus will shift to more accurately tracking expenses.
After some good math and some guessing, $170 is a rough estimateAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-69270816643674632532014-01-10T08:48:00.001-08:002014-01-10T17:58:58.658-08:00Planning Success and Engineering Fail: Winter Update for Tillman
ElementaryIt's January. Wow. Winter is in full swing, but spring will be here before we know it. Various member of the Tillman Sustainability Committee have met a few times since I last posted about planning and progress: A Vision is Taking Shape. Most of my efforts over the last few months have been in one one one conversations with folks who are involved or interested. And taking care of the beds that Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-90758467234374461302014-01-08T10:54:00.001-08:002014-01-16T09:01:40.762-08:00Eating for Sustainability: An Experiment Pt. 1Is it possible to eat healthfully and ethically while on a budget? I can honestly say that I've never had to figure out the answer to that question. But I've wondered for awhile now about whether or not the local food movement is accessible to folks who can't afford to buy their meat from the farmer's market and who would balk at how much I pay each week for organic milk. So...thanks to my Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-34473641014304785592013-10-25T09:28:00.001-07:002013-10-25T09:28:20.726-07:00A Vision is Taking ShapeThe last time I posted on the blog, I was preparing to lead my first lesson in the garden in a long time. In the meantime, that lesson was a blast, then I got busy organizing caretakers for the cool-season veggies the kindergartners planted, and got to go on a meditation retreat. The time and space to come back to the present, to sit in silence, was a welcome respite to the busy-ness of life. It Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-14242371032658682922013-09-11T09:14:00.000-07:002013-09-23T19:41:51.297-07:00Lesson planning after a long sabbaticalSo it's been about a year since I've worked with kids in the garden. My last year in SoBoCo I ran the after-school program for older elementary kids, so it's been even longer since I worked in the garden with the itty-bitties. Next week I am leading 5 classes of kindergartners in "Planting a Rainbow"--we're planting a few raised beds with a bunch of colorful, cool-season crops. I am totally Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-38172016374030557552013-08-31T05:33:00.001-07:002013-09-11T04:23:46.422-07:00Systems thinkingI'm pondering systems thinking and ways to teach it. What about sitting in the school yard and listening to see how many different systems one can observe? You could break it down by senses. What can you hear? What can you see? I'd expect students to be able to hear or see a variety of animal systems (mammals, birds, insects), traffic systems, heating/cooling systems, woodland systems, a Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-55705008109722506282013-08-27T12:03:00.005-07:002013-08-29T04:57:58.105-07:00Gardens, Systems, and the Sustainability Stool"From the garden, and the kitchen, and the table, you learn empathy--for each other and for all of creation; you learn compassion; and you learn patience and self-discipline. A curriculum that teaches these lessons gives children an orientation to the future--it can give them hope."
-Alice Waters
I haven't visited that quote in awhile. But it speaks so beautifully to what I believe our Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338028866822442983.post-46004539691527726222013-08-17T12:22:00.002-07:002013-08-17T12:22:47.891-07:00Planning at Tillman Elementary
Today the garden committee met with the Garden Coordinator from Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District, Melissa Breed-Park. What a fount of knowledge and experience she is! We toured the grounds with her, detailing our hopes for this year as well as some long-range dreams for the schoolyard. Below is a first look at some top priorities.
Principal Lisa Greenstein greeting MRH Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15001065654275482760noreply@blogger.com0