There’s a Garden Growing in PS 150

Kudos to PS 150’s Wellness Health And Movement (WHAM) Committee, which recently received a grant of $1,737 from GrowNYC. This, combined with additional grants from the Department of Education’s School Wellness Council and Whole Foods, and the support of New York Sun Works, has enabled WHAM to install a hydroponic garden in our Pre-K classroom. WHAM envisions that the budding garden, which uses water with added nutrients rather than soil, will introduce the science of urban farming to our students and teachers, and eventually will yield the produce for our school’s monthly vegetable taste tests. First up: lettuce and basil.

Also on WHAM’s agenda is the second annual Family Fitness Day, scheduled for Saturday, May 10. Like last year, families will be invited to participate in a series of fun physical activities. Organizers are looking for volunteers to help plan the event. If you are interested, please contact 150wham@gmail.com.

WHAM was co-founded last year by Susan Korenberg (Jessica, 4th Grade and Olivia, 1st Grade) and Shakira Provasoli (Amina Rosa, 4th Grade and Marinella, 1st Grade) to inspire students to try new vegetables and to make healthy eating choices. One lunchtime every month, students are invited to participate in a vegetable taste test, and then vote for their favorite. The fourth grade class makes a graph to announce the winning vegetable.

For more information about hydroponic farming in a classroom setting, see these videos about the greenhouse lab at PS 333 on the Upper West Side, where Shakira also happens to be the environmental science teacher for Grades K-5:

• NYCmedia
• PBS — from March 13, 2012 and March 1, 2014
• Growing A Greener World