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Hunt School Discovery
Garden |
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The Hunt School Discovery Garden is
an educational partnership program between the Hunt School 4th
and 5th grade classes and the Hunt Garden Club. The
program is an approved project of the Hill Country Master
Gardeners with MGs contributing many hours to the project. |
Each fall and spring the Hunt Garden
Club designs a 12-week program
lasting one hour per week with an
indoor lesson
as well as work in the garden.
Classes are based on the Junior
Master Gardener curriculum. First is
a lesson in lasagna gardening,
preparing the gardens, and planning
tasks for planting day. |
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Lessons will cover: |
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▪
types of
soils and fertilizers
▪
water
conservation and where the water
comes from
▪
the
importance of native plants and
wildscapes |
▪
how the drought affects birds,
insects, and fish
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mulch and its importance
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photo journalism |
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First things first, a lesson about
soils
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Next, all about insects
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Then, very important, all about
water
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This year a specific design was
developed for
each of the student’s gardens. Each
garden was divided into squares with
string. The students were to plant
in each square a certain vegetable
or flower. |
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Then
comes the work |
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Success, and a
bountiful harvest! |
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The fall gardening activities will
end with a gardening handicraft and a
"question game" day. The Hunt
Garden Club will meet in February to
plan the classes for next spring and
fall. |
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Garden Club member/Master
Gardener Bernadell
Larson works in the Discovery Garden, but
her
special
interest
is
water
conservation
and
environmentally
safe
construction
practices.
Larson
conceived
the
idea
of
adding
a
small
water catchment
system
to
provide
water
for
the
garden.
The
idea
caught
fire
among
members
of
the
small
community.
More
than
$15,000
in
goods
and
services
have
been
donated,
with
$3,000
of
that
as
in-kind
donations.
The
result
is a
system
that
collects
and
stores
20,000-gallons
of
rain
water;
and,
the
tank
was
filled
after
the
October
2009
rains.
Read
about
the
2009 Texas Rain Catcher
Award ► |
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