In May of 2019 Friends of the Occoquan donated 40 plants to the Food for Others Garden at Peace Lutheran Church and 10 bags of humus and manure at their newest community garden plot at Pine Ridge Park in Annandale. The gardens are now under the guidance of Maheyaar Barron pictured below. Parents of Parklawn Elementary School (where 97% of the children qualify for free and reduced lunches) maintain the Peace Lutheran Church garden. A big thank you to the Kindergarten students from Ms. Richardson's class from Coles Elementary School who donated Milkweed Plants to attract pollinators.
Over 90,000 families go hungry across the Northern Virginia region every day for a variety of reasons. Food For Others, led by executive director Annie Turner, is a nonprofit organization in the Northern Virginia region whose mission is to distribute food to those in need. They have been providing free food directly to neighbors in need for nearly 25 years. They envision a community free from food insecurity through the help of a giving community and volunteers. To find out more about Food For Others you can vist their website here Food For Others
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Lindenwood Elementary School Green Team- Norfolk, Virginia
May 2019- The Panther Fresh Garden
Friends of the Occoquan supports garden projects in the City of Norfolk. With the support of our sponsors we were able to assist Lindenwood Elementary School’s Panther Fresh Garden. FOTO was able to supply the green club with garden gloves, seed packets, organic soil mix, garden plants, ceder fencing, a rain barrel and paint primer.
Below is the report from Sharon Barnes a community member who took it upon herself with the help of Principal Dennis Holland, Betty Baucom, Steven Dolly, Halima Davis, and Lorenzo Fiorillo to get this garden project underway.
The Lindenwood Elementary School Green Team began its vegetable and flower garden journey on March 12, 2019. Twelve students, mostly 5th graders and one 3rdgrader, along with four adults, staff and volunteers, met in the school library to set off on the mission of building, literally, from the ground up, an understanding of what is involved in growing food. Each weekly meeting begins with a short planning session to review what was accomplished the previous week and discuss what is intended for that day’s work.
Each week we have a slightly different group of students working in the garden, but we have had a lot of fun getting to know one another. We’ve tasted unfamiliar food that we have attempted to grow from seed (papaya, unsuccessfully).
We look forward to sampling our crops when they mature for harvest. There have been a few setbacks, but that happens to the most seasoned of farmers. Vandals have visited our little plot of land, but we persevere. There are rabbits with which to contend. Every week we can possibly attend to our garden, we are out there working, laughing, and learning.
The Panther Fresh Garden is not just a garden. It is an outdoor laboratory for learning about plants, yes, but also about decomposition (composting). We are learning about recycling and reusing. Our planting boxes were rescued from the curb on trash pickup day. So was our compost bin. Our students are learning that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to start a vegetable garden. You can grow food using what you have in creative ways; by repurposing items and giving them new life.
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Coles Elementary School Garden Club
Coles Elementary Garden Club
May 2018
Coles Elementary School in Prince William County has transformed a schoolyard into an outdoor “green” classroom that reconnects students with the natural world that surrounds them. The environmental education efforts of Coles Elementary School have gained statewide attention, carving its place as one of 50 schools recognized in the Virginia Naturally program. The leader for this garden is kindergarten teacher Ms. Ramona Richardson and with the help of staff, students and parents the garden thrives each year with new themes and learning experiences. This year Coles Elementary received plants from the Virginia Cooperative Extension and Master Gardener (VCE) Jamie Nick and FOTO member Sonia Monson were invited to come help the Coles Garden Club get the flowers and herbs into the raised beds. Following this activity student s planted watermelon and zinnia seeds (provided by FOTO) for their home gardens. Coles Elementary is looking for volunteers to help water their school gardens during the summer. Visit their website for more details at https://coleses.pwcs.edu/
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Planning a Pollinator Garden at Lakeridge Middle School
April 12, 2018
Jenna Connor-Harris's gifted Green Club class at Lake Ridge Middle School is getting ready to plant their future pollinator garden with the help of the Friends of the Occoquan who will sponsor their efforts. FOTO members, Sonia Monson and Renate Vanegas introduced their programs and had a discussion on water conservation and the negative impact of litter on our waterways. This was followed up by a garden activity which consisted of planting water melon and zinnia seeds for the students to take home and nourish until they are ready for transplanting.
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FOTO sponsors an Eagle Scout garden project at Hunters Woods Elementary School in Herndon, VA.
October 15, 2017
Friends of the Occoquan sponsored an Eagle Scout community garden project at Hunters Woods Elementary School in Herndon, VA. This was added to the school’s already existing garden project. Science Teacher Rachel Negri cooperated with Boy Scout Brad Mitchell of Troop 1983 to complete his Eagle Scout requirements. The project consisted of two raised garden boxes, including all labor and materials, which will help students learn of how to plant, maintain and harvest their own vegetables. FOTO thanks Hunters Woods Elementary School’s Administration, Mrs. Negri and Troop 1983 and Brad Mitchell for allowing FOTO to continue with our water conservation program.
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FOTO Builds Wheel Chair Accessible Raised Bed for Granby Elementary in Norfolk, VA
Sept. 2017
A big thank you to FOTO team member and Eagle Scout Adrian Monson for assembling this wheelchair accessible raised bed for Granby Elementary School's garden in Norfolk, VA.
FOTO Helps Sponsor "Food For Others" Community Garden
On July 7, 2017 FOTO met with “Food for Others”, a Fairfax non-profit organization serving a growing number of families. They provide food for 700 families and will be delivering fresh vegetables with the establishment of their new community garden which FOTO helped sponsor. FOTO will cooperate with these types of community gardens as part of our program. To date we support community gardens in Prince William County, Fairfax and the city of Norfolk.
On July 7, 2017 FOTO met with “Food for Others”, a Fairfax non-profit organization serving a growing number of families. They provide food for 700 families and will be delivering fresh vegetables with the establishment of their new community garden which FOTO helped sponsor. FOTO will cooperate with these types of community gardens as part of our program. To date we support community gardens in Prince William County, Fairfax and the city of Norfolk.
FOTO Donates Raised Bed, Soil/Compost and Flowers to Penn Elementary School
Under the guidance and the help of FOTO providing the garden box, soil, and plants, eager students from Ms. Loriann Pawlik's Penn Elementary class are planting their flowers to attract butterflies.
Pole Bean Planting at Coles Elementary
On Monday, April 26th FOTO had the opportunity to do some pole bean planting with the Science/Garden Club at Coles Elementary in Prince William County. FOTO was joined by the Magnificent Three you see pictured below and one of their club leaders, Ramona Richardson. First, FOTO member Sonia Monson gave a brief discussion on what a pole bean is and the best way to plant them. Next, students prepped the soil while the adults stapled netting to the wooden posts to support the pole beans as they grow. Students used a ruler to measure and dig 1 inch holes around the posts. The young ladies got creative and alternated green and purple pole beans around each post. Pole beans and netting were provided by FOTO. Seeds were purchased through Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in order to promote the planting of organic and heirloom seeds. As in the thumbs-up picture below- JOB WELL DONE COLES ELEMENTARY!
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Creating a Natural Border- Bamboo Fencing
On October 29th, 2015 Wes Cheney conducted a bamboo fencing workshop for Park Place Elementary School in Norfolk, Virginia. In attendence were staff and students from Park Place School and FOTO team member Atsuko Biernot. The school wanted to create a natural border around their community garden. As of December 14th the fence is near completion. FOTO is the sponsor of this fence.
Photo by Nia Amoruso
Crawly Composters- Vermiculture Workshop
VERMICULTURE WORKSHOP On Monday, October 19, 2015 Friends of the Occoquan sponsored a Vermiculture Workshop at Park Place School in Norfolk, VA. The event was organized by FOTO team member Atsuko Biernot and conducted by Merrie Jo, George Ibarra and Nia Amoruso of the Park Place Peace Garden with additional participation of Grey Hues and Ralph Schylar Harrison (Park Place School’s garden project manager.) Vermiculture is the process of using worms to decompose organic food waste, turning the waste into a nutrient-rich material capable of supplying necessary nutrients to help sustain plant growth. The 2nd-4th grade children learned how to turn kitchen scraps into valuable, organic fertilizer for their school and at home gardens with the help of the friendly earthworm. Photograph credit- Nia Amoruso.
