Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Westmont Garden Update


Hydroponic tower at the
Westmont High School garden.
Some of you may remember when we were visited by Lisa Hootman and her environmental studies class at Westmont High School to talk about their garden. Carol Morency recently checked in with Lisa to hear about their progress. It turns out we can help them win a Seeds of Change grant:

"Our WHS garden is expanding!  Our students built 4 new raised beds (16’x4’) and we just filled them with soil this past Monday.  Today we will be planting our potatoes and the onions. 

If you are able to vote for our WHS garden through this website, we would really appreciate it.  Vote at www.seedsofchangegrant.com. You can type in Westmont High School, 60559 and click search and our school garden picture will come up.  Then all you have to do is click vote and type in a security number and you are all set.  You can vote once each day up to the 27th. We need to be in the top 50 gardens (based on votes) in order to move into the next stage of the grant process. 

We started a hydroponic vegetable growing system at the school.  If you are ever interested in coming to see our four towers, please let me know.  We are growing peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers.  Hydroponics is a great way to teach about water quality and plant growth in Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science.  Our students are enjoying the experience.  

We are interested in expanding and donating food to The People’s Resource Center next year.  Hope you are well and happy Spring!"


Monday, April 13, 2015

April Meeting: Birds and Beans

The coffee we will be sampling on April 15.
Ron Skleney will visit the Downers Grove Organic Gardeners at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 15 at the Downers Grove Public Library, 1050 Curtiss Street, to tell us about "bird-friendly" coffee and how we can preserve bird habitats with our coffee choices. 

His presentation is based on the work of Dr. Bridget Stutchbury, a professor and author of the book Silence of The Songbirds. We will be sampling coffee from www.birdsandbeans.com. For more information about birds and coffee, visit www.coffeehabitat.com.


Please note that this will be the last meeting before the May 9 Plant Sale. If you haven't already, come prepared to sign up for a shift to help on that day.