HandsOn Suburban Chicago , located in Arlington Heights, Illinois is working in conjunction with School District 21 in Wheeling, Illinois to initiate two garden projects that address the environment and hunger.
Ground breaking began on April 10th at Jack London Middle School located in Wheeling. The first phase of the project involves building four raised vegetable beds in the school’s interior courtyard. The project is being led by the HOSC AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer team. Execution of the progam involves collaboration with school adminstration and staff, The Wheeling Garden Club, community volunteers, parents, students, and with the help of donations from local businesses like Whole Foods.
The planting and maintenance of the garden will be the responsibility of students, with each bed being divided up among a few classrooms and curriculum being tied into the overall garden project experience. One classroom will be creating starter plants from seeds within the next week. These fledgling plants will then be transplanted into the prepared beds when weather permits.
On April 20, a project team of employees from Zurich in North America are scheduled to assist in another initiative at London Middle School which will focus on school beautification both inside and out. This is just one of many ways companies can get involved in community service through HandsOn Suburban Chicago. For more information on how your company can get involved in community projects, contact Emily Mihalcean at emily.mihalcean@volunteerinfo.net.
At Cooper Middle School in Buffalo Grove, VISTAs are also making plans to develop a school beautification project that will coincide with Earth Day. Community volunteers, staff, parents and students will all be engaged in this and future projects.
Experienced gardeners or those who just want to get their hands dirty are more than welcome to join these activities. This initiative also provides an opportunity to local businesses to get involved through the donation of supplies for the project. For more information, please contact the Schools & Youth Program Manager at HandsOn Suburban Chicago, Patty Neuswanger at 847.228.1320 or by email at schoolresources@volunteerinfo.net.
Thanks to Patty Neuswanger of HandsOn Suburban Chicago for this post.
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