Efforts Underway to Add Edible Garden at Pleasantville HS
Students in the Pleasantville School District have become accustomed to the idea of planting seeds and harvesting their own crops through the joy of tending to edible gardens at Bedford Road School and Pleasantville Middle School.
Now, school personnel, community volunteers and students are prepared to include Pleasantville High School in the program.
Plans are underway to build an edible garden at the high school before the end of the school year. The pie-shaped garden would be located by the school’s athletic field on the side near the scoreboard.
“If children grow it, they own it and they’ll eat it,” said Andrea Garbarini, one of the organizers and a parent who was instrumental in bringing gardens to the elementary and middle schools. “That’s the beauty of the school garden and they know where their food comes from.”
She is hopeful that the garden will be in place in time to plant seeds for a variety of crops starting in March.
However, with finances tight, organizers must raise about $15,000 to pay for the project. Juliette Saisselin-Killion, who is working with Garbarini on the project, said funding sources include garden steppingstones that will be sold to the public for $100, each one with the donor’s name inscribed. Sponsorship of a garden bed is also available for $250. Smaller donations from the community are being accepted as well.
Fundraising efforts continued on Thursday evening at Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford, with December’s installment of Chris Bro’s NEXT charity concert series featuring the band Deadbeat Darling. A portion of the proceeds from the event are being donated toward the garden.
Saisselin-Killion, a holistic health coach, said it will be an achievement for Pleasantville to have all three schools with gardens but also to be able to teach students the importance of the health benefits of growing their own food.
“I grew up on a farm in France, so I’m used to growing my tomatoes and my fruit from a tree,” she said. “It’s wonderful, so you’re connected.”
In addition, the high school students are forming a Garden Club to help volunteer and will be closely involved with providing the manual labor and ideas for additional fundraisers, said sophomore Alex Goldhorn, the club’s organizer. About 56 students have expressed interest in joining, she said.
Goldhorn said construction of the garden can help her and her classmates understand where food comes from and start thinking more about food preparation, which will also be part of the effort. Both Garbarini and Saisselin-Killion are avid cooks.
“They’re starting to understand, ‘Oh, you know, what, what am I going to do when I’m older,'” Goldhorn said of her classmates. “Being able to know these skills, how to prepare foods, because right now all we know how to do is order pizza.”
Once the garden is built, it could be opened to an assortment of different classes and subjects, said Principal Dawn Bartz.
“I thought it would be something that would benefit all students,” she said.
Garbarini said they wanted to make sure that the high school’s garden was visible to the community when they visit to walk the track or attend sporting events.
For anyone looking to make donations, checks would be payable to the Pleasantville High School Edible Garden and can be sent to Juliette Saisselin-Killion, 23 Grove St., Pleasantville, N.Y. 10570. For more information email her at jules.sk@verizon.net or Garbarini at andreadp@optonline.net.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/