"I'm proud of all the hard work and dedication the workers put into each site. I've learned anything can get accomplished if you work hard."
— Ariana Betterton, 15

"(I'm) proud that I wanted to really get work done, and fast. What I learned is that when it comes to doing work I am serious."
— Martin Rojas, 15

"I'm proud that my attitude stayed under control and I worked well with co-workers."
— Renasia Bryant, 16

In the words of Yonkers Public School students who participated in Summer 2009's Green Project, the summer's work was a source of pride that will continue to blossom.

The results are in: Site 1, a vegetable garden at the Mansion, a facility leased by the Yonkers Public Schools, has huge bunches of Swiss chard, kale, cabbage, quirkily shaped radishes, lettuces, lush beds of lemon verbena and pineapple sage, three standing jungles of tomatoes of varying shapes and sizes, peppers and cauliflowers.

Sites 2 and 3 are beautifully landscaped school grounds that feature shrubs, perennials, annuals and brickwork edging and walkways, at School 16 and Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School.

The project was an outgrowth of the Youth Employment Program, administered by Jan Cabell, director of Career and Technical Education for Yonkers schools, which offers jobs to teens every summer. Greg DuSablon and I were co-supervisors. The dual mandate of the eight-week Green Project program was job readiness and sustainability.

School beautification was a major goal, and our first project — organic, sustainable vegetable gardening — provided skills students can transfer to any kind of gardening or landscaping.

Job readiness skills — punctuality, commitment, cooperation, and initiative, among others —were stressed daily to the 16 students who participated. They also learned that school gardening can present unique challenges.

Rainy July days were spent indoors working on design grids and discussing sustainability issues.

Once, when we went to a site to install some deer-deterrent fencing and other objects, we noticed that our carefully designed plantings were off-balance.

We'd planted two lush coleus on either side of the flagpole to form our center point.

They'd grown impressively, expanding on all sides.

Now, though there was no gaping hole, only a miniature coleus was growing in spot No. 3. Clearly the large plant had been purloined, a top piece lopped off and rooted in its place. At another garden, whole plants went missing, lifted from their holes before they took root.

Both gardening and sustainability meant the students needed to understand details and terms as well as concepts.

The sustainability focus dealt with local vs. non-local foods, facts about energy consumption, car idling, non-chemical pest control, use of recycled materials (e.g., old bricks), e-waste and digital dumping in Third World countries.

Students were required to read handouts. They wrote self-evaluations at the midpoint and at the end of the project. Their final evaluation included their views of "gardening as a craft" and "yourself as an employee/a worker."

Each site required students to use various skills as steps toward building and maintaining gardens:

• Noting features such as sunlight, shade, slope, nearness to people, foot traffic and heat or cooling sources, ease of maintenance for year-round staff, existing plantings and the school building;
• Discussing color, what we'd like to see at the site, seasonal appropriateness of plants and their local availability;
• Measuring the site, then coming up with a design, first freehand, then on grid paper;
• Mapping out and digging beds;
• Screening soil, adding materials to make it loamy;
• Digging and preparing holes for plants with the right distances between them;
• Securing plants at the right level;
• Feeding plants with the appropriate fertilizers or plant food;
• Mulching; and
• Watering and weeding.

To enhance the connection between themselves and the elementary children at School 16 and Martin Luther King Jr. school, who will see the gardens daily, project workers wrote two heartfelt group letters to the children, explaining what their goals had been.

Teachers were provided with a list of simple tasks the youngsters can do to maintain and expand the gardens. If these activities are combined with academic skills like observation, measurement and data recording, the garden can become an "outdoor classroom" that makes learning lively and fun.

As students sift silty soil through their fingers or clump clay in their palms, it is easier for them to contemplate how a hair-thin root might move through it to establish a healthy plant, and what the soil may need to make that easier. Learning doesn't get more hands-on than that.

Deborah Maier is a teacher, an avid gardener, and a member of Yonkers Federation of Teachers, led by Pat Puleo. She welcomes comments at dmteaches@gmail.com or on her Web site: www.kidsgrowgreener.com. Cornell University also offers "Agriculture in the Classroom," which supports school gardening programs via materials and grants.

Crispy Kale

One of the joys of school vegetable gardening is seeing kids try something they've never considered 'food' and finding it tasty, which may lead to some healthier eating habits.

This kale recipe is incredibly healthy. It boasts a whopping 309% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, 201% vitamin C, 14% calcium, 10% iron, 3 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and has 112 calories and 1 gram of saturated fat per serving.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

6-8 cups chopped fresh kale, hard stems removed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt

Preparation:

Place a rack on the lowest shelf of your oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread kale out on a sturdy baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Toss to coat completely.
Place on the lowest rack of the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and stir so kale can get crispy all over.
Bake another 8 to 12 minutes or until kale is crispy. It should be just lightly browned and crispy to the touch.
If kale still bends, rather than crackles, when you touch it, it isn't done yet. Return it to the oven. Turn down the heat if it is getting too brown. Continue cooking until crispy.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately.

Source: about.com: Cooking for kids