Mary Ellen Palermo added 8 new photos — with Maria Carrasco and 10 others.
10 hrs ·
Tomorrow in Lynn the award winning School Garden at Ford School is bull dozed I am told - the end of an era of fresh vegetables grown at the inner city elementary school - created by David Gass and maintained by grants and volunteers. Pictures that appeared in the Boston Globe appear below. The garden was a special place in the Highlands for all the area children and families to gather in the summer.
Boston Globe (10/26/11) LYNN - On a recent afternoon, everything is peaceful at the Robert L. Ford School. Students of all colors, religions, and nationalities mingle in the yard. A teacher’s voice drifts from the window, stern and affectionate. But a few buildings away stands a house that was until only recently a center of drug activity. Gang members have burned the equipment in the local playgrounds. The Ford School isn’t just a building with classrooms. It’s an oasis for the community.
This is particularly true of a narrow space beside the school that used to be covered in blacktop, roomy enough for a good game of hopscotch but not much more. In 2008, the Highlands Coalition, a community group, helped turn it into a garden. Now, in the middle of the city, eggplants, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes, grapes and apples, mint and chives flourish. Ginseng and jalapenos reflect the community’s diversity. And as the sky clears up after a rainy morning, fourth- and fifth-graders stream out of the building, ready to spend some time outside.
Waiting for them are Norris Guscott and Andy Harding, best friends since junior high school, now in their early 20s. They are among the first group of participants in FoodCorps, a newly launched national service organization formed to fight the childhood obesity epidemic. It takes a three-pronged approach: providing nutrition education, bringing healthy local food into school cafeterias, and creating and expanding school garden programs like the one in Lynn. An AmeriCorps program, it also receives funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Woodcock Foundation, Whole Kids Foundation, and others.
This is particularly true of a narrow space beside the school that used to be covered in blacktop, roomy enough for a good game of hopscotch but not much more. In 2008, the Highlands Coalition, a community group, helped turn it into a garden. Now, in the middle of the city, eggplants, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes, grapes and apples, mint and chives flourish. Ginseng and jalapenos reflect the community’s diversity. And as the sky clears up after a rainy morning, fourth- and fifth-graders stream out of the building, ready to spend some time outside.
Waiting for them are Norris Guscott and Andy Harding, best friends since junior high school, now in their early 20s. They are among the first group of participants in FoodCorps, a newly launched national service organization formed to fight the childhood obesity epidemic. It takes a three-pronged approach: providing nutrition education, bringing healthy local food into school cafeterias, and creating and expanding school garden programs like the one in Lynn. An AmeriCorps program, it also receives funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Woodcock Foundation, Whole Kids Foundation, and others.
- 5 shares
Leslie Greenberg Politics gone bad. We will rally together tomorrow to try to delay the bulldozer, but eventually it will happen. Brokenhearted. That garden was a safe place, kids and elders sharing a lunch. Volunteers coming in to help. A sad day for the Highlands.
Dottie Hogan Noooo! Get everybody in front of the bulldozer like Tienanmen Square! How the hell these idiots think this is a good idea is beyond reason...!
Seth Albaum I haven't seen nor heard a peep from the LPS as to WHY. They owe the community an explanation.
Joanne Sullivan Awesome. Love the smiles on the faces of all the little cherubs.
Carolyn Carol Locke Will someone please explain the reasoning behind the plan to demolish this garden. Explain to those who toiled in the hot sun to grow these veggies. Explain to all the people who received the nourishment from the veggies. Explain to Dr.Crane,the teache...See More
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