LT Transition Program Expanding Garden; Local Businesses on Board

Lyons Township recently broke ground on a new garden that students in the high school's transition program will use to learn about gardening and business, and local restaurants and residents will get to consume the product. 

The transition program, which helps 18- to 22-year-old students move from high school to adult life, teaches them about cooking, cleaning, business skills and lots more. And with an expanded garden, the students will get to focus on some of the vital tenets of the program: community participation and business skills. 

Students have been gardening for a couple of years, but this new setup will allow them to grow a greater variety of fruits and vegetables and do so in a more accessible and interactive area.

"We’ll have bigger production, and with the money we raise we can make more improvement to our program and our garden," student Tyler Reineke said. 

In addition to growing the produce, students also sell it at the La Grange farmers market. The new garden should be constructed by the end of the school year, allowing for time to sell produce later in the summer. Local businesses are also jumping on board and will be using some of the produce from the transition garden. 

"I’m very excited about it," said Paul Link, owner of Now Serving Cafe, which will be getting tomatoes from the garden. "That it’s kids with special needs growing it, that has a lot of meaning to it. And to be able to keep the produce in the community, I like that. The value of it is priceless."

Other places have shown interest, including Vie in Western Springs and Nickson's, which has requested radishes, among other produce. 

Teacher Jessica Pry said the garden has a number of benefits to the students. They learn a hobby like gardening, but then also use what they've grown to learn to cook and eat healthy. They also learn business skills and community participation by selling the produce at the farmers market. 

"This is their responsibility," Pry said. "It’s basically a house owned by 30 people. Everything they do has to be independent." 

A grant made this new garden a possibility, and LT is in the running for another grant that would help fund the garden. The Seeds of Change grant requires reader voting on Facebook, and the program could receive up to $25,000. Vote here for the Seeds of Change grant.

The students at the transition home said they're excited to be able to grow a wider variety of items. 

"It’s been fun. The community loves our vegetables!" student Matt Mardiks said.

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