Schools
Cossitt School Installs Education Garden
Community turns out to create an educational garden at Cossitt Avenue School.
This morning, when students at Cossitt Avenue School come back from the long weekend, they will find their long-awaited Education Garden.
The idea for the garden was hatched two years ago by the Cossitt School PTC as a way to supplement the school’s science curriculum. Committee Co-Chairman Becky Brzeczek was on site Saturday to oversee the final touches on the installation which includes a shade garden, a butterfly garden and a sustainable vegetable garden—all of which will serve as an outdoor classroom.
“The vegetable gardens are surrounded by bench stones so the children can sit along the side while they are learning,” said Brzeczek. “The third-graders will release their butterflies into the butterfly garden. The fourth-graders will use the garden for their meal worm studies, and the fifth-graders will use the garden for their soil unit.”
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The garden’s lessons are also likely to extend beyond science.
“We envision the art classes making stepping stones for the garden,” said Brzeczek. “We have also discussed starting a vegetable stand, or coordinating with a food pantry to donate what we grow.”
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The garden curriculum will also integrate lessons in teamwork, planning, responsibility, respect for the earth and healthy eating habits.
Materials for the project were largely donated by Prairie Path Pavers, Vulcan Materials Company and Lupfer Lansdcaping.
In addition to his contract landscaping work, Tom Lupfer put his considerable knowledge of sustainable gardening to use on this project.
“There is up to 16 inches of gravel underneath the pavers," Lupfer said. "The gravel cleans the water and the special garden mix in the beds wick [the water] back up into the garden."
In addition to the PTC and the contractors, the garden project was supported by school principal Mary Tavegia, Master Gardener Libby Langevin (Evergreen Park), District 102 Science Center Director Carol Johnson. Darlene Stirn and Mrs. Brzeczek co-chaired the committee.
The wheelchair accessible garden and paver patio can be viewed from the south side of Cossitt School.
