Today, We Celebrate!

Today was the day we got together to celebrate the transformation of the children’s outdoor play area.   The picture below includes only a small fraction of the VIPs who had a hand in the project; SWCC management, Portland Parks maintenance, Sprout teachers, Sprout parents, and of course some of our lil Sprout gardeners! 

 
Read on to learn more about some of what we have accomplished this school year; special mention goes out below to all who were instrumental in making it a reality! 

Custom Sandbox, September 2011

Teacher Catherine Trzybinski designed & helped build the preschool’s brand new custom sandbox! The wood was purchased at a great discount from PARR Lumber in NW Portland; the eco-healthy stabilizer & sealant was purchased at a discount from Timber Pro Coatings on E. Burnside, & Catherine, Terry Thorgesen, & Blaine Rethmeier assembled it before classes started Sep 19.  Our first major addition to the courtyard for the 2011-2012 school year! 

 

 

Reclaimed Logs, November 2011

We introduced natural elements into the courtyard to foster imaginative play for our students. When it is not appropriate for a nature walk, children are able to create new games and develop gross motor skills right outside the classroom doors. MaryAnn Takashima, Laure Butera, Catherine, and John Watkins of Parks’ Urban Forestry team met on several occasions choosing just the right pieces to salvage.  Joe Lastomirsky (family friend & Sprout supporter) supplied the large wooden stump for the children’s table.

 

 

Woolly Pockets, March 2012

Woolly’s 101

• Woolly School Garden,
  http://www.woollyschoolgarden.org/
  , is a nationwide Non-Profit Program focused on getting children interested in gardening early and teaching them how to grow their own sustainable, organic foods
• Woolly’s are made in the USA from 90%+ recycled plastic bottles!
• The kit came with 44 pockets, soil, seeds, drip irrigation kit, and an easy-to-use annual curriculum to get teachers started.
• These are also available for purchase for home use!  Portland Nursery sells them here in town along with a few other retailers.

 

Fundraising efforts

Starting in the Fall 2011, we set out to raise $1100 of the $2100 needed for the kit (WSG.org matches $1000 for each school in the program).  We collected $616 in individual cash donations and $484 from a generous sponsor!  See below for the names of our glorious contributors!

Volunteers

In addition to financial contributions, many folks volunteered time or other resources to get the project up & running.  These fine folks are listed below.    

 

What’s planted?

Each teacher & class have their very own row of pockets to tend with the children. The 2’s have the bottom row, the 3’s have the middle, and the 4’s have the top!  Laure is even in on the fun with 6 pockets on the outside of the garden, facing the entry way to SWCC~!  

• The 2’s = left of the gate is/will be pumpkins for the Fall, and to the right is all grass!
• The 3’s = left of the gate is/will be pumpkins for the Fall, and to the right are pumpkins, strawberries, marigolds, salad greens, broccoli, sweet peas, mums, marigolds & strawberries.
• The 4’s = left of the gate are marigolds, kale, strawberries, broccoli, and to the right are peas, beans, nasturtiums, marigolds, sunflowers, and collard greens.
• Outside pockets; a ButterflyGarden= Milk Weed, Aster, Echinacea, Checker Mallow, Iris, Goldenrod, & others…

 

A VERY special Thanks to all of these wonderful people & businesses that had a hand in the children’s garden:

Planning:

MaryAnn Takashima, Laure Butera, Catherine Trzybinski (Pocket locations, fundraising, etc); Renae Dimond & Jamie Repasky (Parent volunteer fundraiser help); Don McTaggart (Structural advisor); Les Kralicek (Steel framework design); Tim Haberman (Drip irrigation kit plan & installation); John Long (Butterfly Garden plant selection); Gordy Davis (Butterfly Garden nature-scape arrangement).

Donors, Discounts & Volunteers:

Woolly School Garden.org - $1000 (of $2100)
WSG Kit:       Curriculum, pockets, irrigation/timer, seeds, soil, misc hardware

Cash donors – $616 (see below)

The KOR Physical Therapy & Athletic Wellness - $602.40
Closed the gap to $1100 for WSG kit & covered discounted steel for framework

Les Kralicek/Portland Parks & Rec Maintenance
Fabricated steel framework structure at home on his weekends

The Western Group 
Donated 1/8” wire mesh

The Steel Yard 
30% discount on angle & flat iron

Portland Nursery 
Donated seeds (LOTS of packets)

Color FX   & Scott Vanderpool/Portland Parks & Rec Welding 
Sandblasting & powder coating (sandblasting greatly discounted; powder coating donated)

Terry Thorgesen/SWCC Facility Attendant
Pocket installation

Mary Wagner
Mobile compost tumbler

John Long/City Nature Horticulturalist 
4 hours of time & expertise + MANY butterfly attracting plants donated

Gordy Davis/Portland Parks & Recreation Horticulturalist
Time helping naturescape the butterfly garden

 

Woolly Pocket Cash Donations:

 

Anonymous (x2)

Bobbi Jo Rust

Catherine Samson

Gina Hanchett

Kristen Hart

Kristen Seidman

Laure Butera

Lindsay Biedel

Lisa Heberlein

Martin Kilbourne

Mary Louise Rust

Mary Richmond

Renae Dimond

Robyn Hartmeyer

Tracy Suzuki

Violet Cleary

Virginia Foreman

Wendy Hupperich

Here’s to many years of fruitful fun to come~!