Chariho Middle School Kid's Grow

Chariho Regional School District

Address: 455B Switch Road
Wood River Junction, RI 2894
US

Telephone: (401)364-0651
Email: dan.potts@chariho.k12.ri.us
Website: http://www.chariho.k12.ri.us.com

Needs for 2010:

To meet our goal of having a vegetable garden in every school by 2010 we will need the following materials by March 2010:

Ashaway School
30, 2"x12"x8' pine lumber for 10 raised beds
1, 5 pound box of 3 inch screws
20 yards of top soil
10 yards of compost or manure
24 small planting shovels
24 small hand cultivators
30 tomato cages or stakes
5 watering cans


Charlestown School
30, 2"x12"x8' pine lumber for 10 raised beds
1, 5 pound box of 3 inch screws
20 yards of top soil
10 yards of compost or manure
24 small planting shovels
24 small hand cultivators
30 tomato cages or stakes
5 watering cansSummer 2009

Thank you Tuckahoe Turf for the half acre of land and water to the garden since 1996!
Thank you John and Cindy's Harvest Acre Farm for your continued support since 1996!
Thank you Earth Care Farm for the donation of 4 yards of compost and UBS for the great price on 2x12x8 pine lumber for the new raised beds at Hope Valley Elementary School!

Come Support our Chariho District Garden Team! We will have a garden in every school by 2010 to hopefully provide 2000 pound of fresh vegetables to the community by 2011! The next meeting will be on September 16, 2009 in the Chariho Middle School Library from 7:00 to 8:00 PM.

2009 Harvest
Green Peppers 54.5 pounds
Banana Peppers 28.5 pounds
Cucumbers 19 pounds
Tomatos 88 pounds
Eggplant 3.5 pounds

total 2009 193.5 pounds
1996 to 2009 total 12,513 lbs.

Our Kid's Grow Garden summer maintenance program.
Number of volunteers 58
Number of service hours 201

Maddie Amarante 2 hours
Lauren Antoni 1 hour
Lisa Antoni 1 hour
Joe Bruscini 1 hour
Gage Brightman 1 hour
Taylor Browning 5 hours
Joe Caruso 1 hour
David Champlin 1 hour
Brianna Cole 1 hour
Nathan Cole 2 hours
Stallion Collins 1 hour
Cassidy Connell 1 hour
Dom Cuttle 1 hour
Kaitlin Dolloff 1 hour
Rachel Fanning 1 hour
Liz Hansen 1 hour
Kim Harrington 1 hour
Ryan Harrington 1 hour
Jessica Havas 3 hours
Jenny Karayeva 1 hour
Jacqui Krause 1 hour
Meghan Lattimore 1 hour
Marisa Longolucco 8 hours
Marti Longolucco 11 hours
Nick Longolucco 4 hours
Rich Longolucco 7 hours
Nate Lucas 1 hour
Evan Manchester 1 hour
Keegan Messineo 1 hour
Amy Micklich 1 hour
Mike Micklich 1 hour
Rilly Micklich 1 hour
Deb Nunes 3 hours
Jen Nunes 5 hours
Norm Nunes 6 hours
Rachel Nunes 6 hours
Angela O'Donnell 15 hours
Carey O'Donnell 12 hours
Rebecca O'Donnell 12 hours
Dan Potts 13 hours
Julia Potts 6 hours
Maddie Potts 4 hours
Dan Rathbone 2 hour
Howard Richmond 7 hours
Judianne Richmond 1 hour
Kirsten Richmond 7 hours
Laurie Richmond 1 hour
Nichole Richmond 7 hours
Emily Rolin 1 hour
Jessica Rose 1 hour
Barbra Scott 1 hour
Jillian Scott 1 hour
Caisse Simons 2 hours
Jessica Testa 4 hours
Nick Testa 5 hours
Sue Testa 8 hours
Elizabeth Trombino 1 hour
Lowell Turner 1 hour
Hannah Wilkinson 4 hours

Summer 2008
A special thanks goes out to the Southern Rhode Island Cooperative Extension for the $1,000.00 grant to purchase needed tools and supplies as well as refreshments for those working in the garden!

2008's summer maintenance and after school program was a huge success! As of October 15th we have had 79 different volunteers in the garden combining for a total of 300 community service hours! This is by far the best year in regards to summer participation. Thanks for the great work students, parents and members of the Chariho community.

Produce donated 2008:
Cucumbers/Summer Squash 86 lbs.
Peppers 516 lbs.
Green Beans 53 lbs.
Eggplant 224 lbs.
Tomatoes 54.5 lbs.
Watermelon 65 lbs.
Sweet Corn 21 lbs.
Pumpkins 83 lbs.
Fall Squash 47 lbs.
2008 total 1,249.5 lbs.

1996 to 2008 total 12,319.5 lbs.

What is Kid's Grow?

Kid's Grow is Chariho Middle School's award winning garden program, where students create a half acre garden every year and donate all the food produced to the Westerly WARM Shelter. The program started in 1996, with guidance from the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District and land donated by Tuckahoe Turf. It has been growing ever since. Chariho students are responsible for all aspects of the garden, from planning the layout, starting the seeds, caring for seedlings, planting the garden, maintaining the garden through the summer and harvesting the produce. Fresh produce is delivered to the Westerly WARM Shelter weekly starting in July and lasting through September. Since the conception of the program, our total donation of fresh produce is projected to exceed 12,000 pounds. Due to the student's efforts, we have received local, state, and national recognition. We have been awarded the: "WARM HEART AWARD" from the Westerly WARM Shelter, "Outstanding Farmer of the Year 1997" from the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District, the Soil and Water Conservation Society Southern New England Chapter "1999 Merit Award", and Gardener's Supply Company 1st prize 2003 Garden Crusader Award in the category of "Feeding the Hungry". Our most recent achievement was the 2007 "Children's Garden Network Service Award". We have also had the opportunity to present our program to other educators and at the 11th annual Nation Service-Learning Conference at the Providence Convention Center.

In addition to the gardening aspect of the program, Chariho Middle School students have the opportunity to explore and expand their knowledge of plants, composting, recycling, teaching, and various construction projects. Over the years several groups of students designed and taught lessons to fifth grade students about various garden related topics while other groups work on our paper recycling program which was recognized for its outstanding recycling efforts in 2003. A third group of students continues to construct raised beds and additional grow boxes. Grow boxes were first used to start our seeds in 2002 after working with Rhode Islands "Kids First" program. The wide scope of this program helps to insure participation of a variety of students with different abilities and time commitments.

The Purpose of Kid's Grow!

Our purpose is to reinforce the rich agricultural heritage of the Chariho Region, provide multiple opportunities for students to participate in community service, make curriculum connections to strengthen achievement, and to increase student's connection to the natural world.    

The Goal of Kid's Grow!

The goal of the District Garden Team is to incorporate a sustainable garden in all eight schools in the Chariho Regional School District. These schools will then showcase their accomplishments and challenges with other schools across the state and possibly the Nation. Working in collaboration with the Children's Garden Network, Rhode Island Center for Agricultural Promotion and Education (RICAPE), University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association and local businesses, this goal will become a reality.

Summer 2007

During the summer of 2007 we had 39 different volunteers that accumulated 144 hours of service in the garden. Our produce was down from previous years do to a lack of nutrients; however, we were still able to produce 141 pounds of produce. This years harvest consisted of peppers, green beans, cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and eggplant. Our total produce donations have accumulated to 11,140.9 pounds of produce since 1996.


How Can You Get Involved?

We are looking for individuals, organizations, and businesses to assist in all aspects of our year round garden program. Donations of gardening tools, supplies, manure, expertise, forming curriculum connections, help organizing a garden team for the district, volunteer recruitment or just help in the garden. If you are interested in helping support this program in any way please contact Dan Potts at dan.potts@chariho.k12.ri.us or (401) 364-0651 ex 7324.

Previous Supporters
Agway Inc. Westerly and Exeter
Clark Farms Garden Center
Earth Care Farm
Gardeners Supply Company
Hallene Farm
Hidden Valley Greenhouse
John and Cindy's Harvest Acres Farm
Manfredi Farms
McQuade's Home Center
Richmond Sand and Gravel
Shaw's Supermarket of Westerly
Sosnowski Farm
Southern Rhode Island Conservation District
South Side Community Land Trust
Staples of Westerly
Stop and Shop of Richmond
The Farmer's Daughter
The Rose Shack
Toth Family
Tuckahoe Turf
UBS of Richmond
URI CELS Extension and Outreach Center
Westerly WARM Shelter
Wyoming Hardgoods

Dan Potts