To the editor:

The Sippican School Community Garden Club did something different this year – gardening in the winter. Meeting inside when the ground is frozen gave students the opportunity to learn about gardening, plants, and nutrition when they couldn’t get their hands in the dirt outside.

Students worked with flower bulbs in an activity entitled, “Let’s Fool Mother Nature.” Additionally, stem cuttings and vegetable tops were used to learn about ways new plants could be started without seeds. Flower arranging was done to understand the function of stems and osmotic pressure. A recycling project helped students have a fun time learning about beneficial and harmful garden insects. Winter sessions concluded with a field trip to the Fairhaven Stop & Shop where participants discovered how seeds that are planted reach the marketplace.

The garden club would like to take this opportunity to thank so many people for their generosity with donations of time, materials, and funding. First, nutritious snacks were made possible for the winter sessions with donations from Converse Realty in Marion.  Further, we enjoyed two fun activities with Steve Gonsalves of Eden Landscapes to learn about planting succulent gardens with stem cuttings and in another session, students were thoroughly engaged in creating St. Patrick’s Day floral arrangements.  Thanks go to Erin Kirk, Sippican art teacher, for her provision of bits and pieces for our recycling project.

A generous donation has just been received for the purchase of planting medium, soaker hoses, seed heating pad units, and other items needed for this spring, summer and fall garden seasons. Numerous hours were given by staff member Hannah Moore, community members, MaryAnn Kilgore and Marthe Soden, and parent, Bob Zutaut.

Finally, sincere thanks to Stop & Shop for providing a great finale for children to discover what is available in their stores that is organic, not a genetically modified organism, fresh or packaged. The “Healthy Kids” curriculum pieces were shared with children to take home after reading about healthy life styles they can practice. Thanks to our generous community for paving the way for school garden activities.

Diane Cook,

Sippican School garden coordinator