HAMDEN — The town is building a new community garden at each of five elementary schools, aiming to raise awareness of food resources and get teachers and students active in the gardening process.
The soon-to-be planting plots for residents at Church Street, Helen Street, Spring Glen, West Woods and Dunbar Hill elementary schools were made possible by a $46,875 grant from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Mayor Lauren Garrett said Thursday the five schools were chosen through community interest and a scan of equitable access. She said the idea was pushed forward by the Spring Glen PTA.
“The goals are to provide interdisciplinary outdoor space where kids can investigate and learn about the value of the natural world and spend more time outside,” Garrett said.
Lindsay Suhr, DEEP’s director of land acquisition and management, said the grant was provided through the Urban Green and Community Garden program, which targets “stressed municipalities.”
Each school will turn underutilized or undeveloped space into ADA-accessible raised beds and stone dust pathways, plots for vegetable and flower platings, seating tables and perimeter fencing.
While Garrett said it still was too early to determine what kind of activities will be held or what kind of plants will be grown at the gardens, she said students will be learning about sustainability, climate change and nutrition — something she called “the world’s biggest challenges.”
According to officials, the gardens will be maintained by the town but will be managed by each school’s PTA.
Suhr said each garden will have an application process for community members to have a plot, depending on the size and how much is available.
“The money that would be raised for that would go directly back into managing and keeping these gardens up and running,” Suhr said. “They’re going to use it for educational purposes, for the schools, for the students at the schools and new programming around it as well.”
These community gardens will be located near bus stops so the public can access them easily, according to DEEP.
For example, Garrett said the Helen Street School’s garden site will be located in the parking lot on Gorham Avenue, about a six-minute walk from the closest bus stop, and the site at Spring Glen School will be at the corner of Whitney Avenue and Glendower Road.
In terms of the timeline for the project, Garrett said the town along with the PTAs will finalize the plans across five sites in the first couple of months and the planting will begin eight months after receiving the monetary award from DEEP.
chatwan.mongkol@hearstmediact.com