Barnard’s Classroom Garden Springs to Life

Barnard sixth grader Tiranke Keita dug a hole in the bed of her school’s garden, Grace Sherman filled it in with a handful of rich compost, and Issac Oliver nestled in a starter plant of lettuce — kicking off the Derby Avenue PreK‑8 school’s latest effort in hands-on, hands-in-the-dirt learning.

That three-student teamwork marked the start of Barnard Environmental Science & Technology School’s spring outdoor garden this school year last Friday.

Barnard STEM teacher Michelle Pileggi led that most recent example of the West River public school’s shift to outdoor instruction with students. Pileggi has been working with Trifecta Ecosystems to show her students the wonders of getting their hands dirty and learning directly about nature and sustainability.

She has also worked with Trifecta to create hydroponic and aquaponic systems throughout the 170 Derby Ave. school.

Students prepared for the 40-minute class by tying on aprons, putting on gloves, and grabbing trowels.

Barnard began partnering with Trifecta Ecosystems last school year. Trifecta Director of Dducation Brittany Nassr joined Pileggi and her students for Friday’s outing.

The goal for Pileggi’s work is to teach the PreK‑8 students about food deserts and the benefits of urban farming. 

Pileggi showed the students four steps for the process.

First: Rough up and aerate the soil.

Second: Plant the starter seedling with a handful of composted soil.

Third: Keep the plants a hand’s length apart.

Fourth: Water the base and not the leaves.

Trio Tiranke Keita, 11, Grace Sherman, 12, and Issac Oliver, 12 worked together Friday to garden for the first time. 

Sherman said she enjoys having the garden because it’s good for the environment and is a good skill to learn at an early age. 

The trio said they hope to grow tomatoes, watermelons, grapes, strawberries, and pineapples in their own gardens one day. 

“What is kale?” one student asked. 

“It’s a green that is high in vitamins. You can make it into delicious chips with olive oil, salt, and pepper,” Nassr said. 

“I’d put some lemon pepper or slap ya mama on it,” said India Watson, 12.

While Watson said she isn’t a fan of touching dirt, she said Friday’s lesson was a good start to helping her to learn one day how to start her own vegetable and fruit garden. 

In a brief discussion after the lesson some students described gardening as hard work while others said it was fun. 

The first sixth-grade class planted lettuce and kale while the second planted Swiss chard and more lettuce. 

“Why do you think the compost is darker than this soil?” Nassr asked. 

“It’s full of more nutrients,” said Grace Sherman, 12. 

Earlier in the year Nassr sent students home with forms asking their families their favorite meals to create a school recipe book that will show families how to use what’s grown in the school garden.

The school-wide cookbook, made up of family-favorite recipes and written by students, is designed to encourage families to start an at-home garden to continue to use fresh ingredients. The cookbook is also meant to encourage students to put their school-learned skills of seeding, planting, and harvesting in a garden to good use at home with their families.

Families will have a chance to enjoy their recipes at an end-of-year ​“farm to table” family potluck event.

While outdoors, students asked questions about the different already growing plants in the school’s garden beds, like lamb’s ear. Keita and Sherman each took turns touching the soft and fuzzy feel of the plant. 

Other students picked up small grubs and worms from the garden bed and learned what they were before then removing them from the bed. 

It’s been years since sixth grader Mohammed Issu, 12, had tried gardening. After Friday’s lesson he said he enjoyed it and described it as ​“a good way to save money on groceries.” 

He said he hopes to have a garden of his own one day that would grow tomatoes, watermelon, lettuce, and strawberries. 

“It helps you out because you know what you’re eating,” he added. 

One thing 12-year-olds Madaline Morocco and Camila Corte Carvente enjoyed more than gardening was taking time to splash each other with water and dancing to music that echoed from the neighboring playground full of elementary students. 

“I love that we can water the garden, then water ourselves,” Carvente said. 

Inside Pileggi’s classroom and in the school’s entrance atrium are several hydroponic and aquaponic systems introduced by Trifecta. 

Her classes are growing tomatoes and peppers with the systems. 

Trifecta is focused on helping Barnard become ​“a school that feeds itself” by showing all students the various responsibilities individuals and companies have in getting food from farm to table. Through this work the school is also teaching about the environmental impacts of different farming methods.

After filling the bed with alternating rows of produce and herbs, students helped to water the plants and create name labels for each row. 

In a separate garden bed, Pileggi also showed her students, several of which migrated to New Haven from Afghanistan, where she planted Black Kabuli garbanzo beans. 

“Ask your parents about them, you’ve probably had them before,” Pileggi said. 

“I’ve never seen [them] before you put them in the ground,” said one student. 

After the day’s lesson, students dusted their hands off on their aprons, washed them under the hose outdoors, and dried off from the outdoor class lesson. 

The school school is also working to reduce waste by composting organic material and creating food share tables in the cafeteria. Students set up taste test stations for their peers during lunch waves on Tuesdays, and a farm stand for families during dismissal on Fridays. 

All produce grown outdoors in the spring, summer, and fall and through the indoor aquaponics and hydroponic systems in the fall, winter, and spring aim to provide students with the experience of urban farming year round.

As Barnard Theme Coach Lana Rowan put in an email comment sent to the Independent: ​“These real-life, authentic learning opportunities not only strengthen family connections, but also help students understand the vital roles environmental education, advocacy and technology have to their future.”

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