St. George Gardening

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Come help get the school garden ready for the spring and summer growing season!  This month is all about seeds, soil, and sun!  We’ll be starting our own seedlings, building a compost system for the school, learning about soil testing, and planning out what we want our school garden to look like (plus fun games and team building)!

Half the month we’ll be based at the school, the other half we’ll be transporting students over to Blueberry Cove Camp to work in their garden and work on our compost system build. 

This month-long program in May will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:00-5:00 and is for 4th and 5th graders only at the St. George School and space is limited. The cost of the program is $80 and financial assistance is available.  Please reach out to Ellie Mason with any questions or concerns (e.mason@stgeorgemsu.org)

What to bring each day:

  • We will be providing garden gloves and trowels, but if your child would like to bring their own from home, they are more than welcome to.  We will have a safe place at the school to store it for the month should they wish to leave it here.  Please make sure anything you send along with your child is well marked with their name so we are able to return it at the end of the month.
  • Muck boots and clothes to get muddy/dirty!  They say that April showers bring May flowers, but it’s highly likely that we’ll also get some May showers, and mud season in Maine can seem to last forever.  Please send your child with appropriate gear for the weather.  This program is heavily outdoor-based and we will be out in rain!  It can be helpful to send an extra set of clothes as a backup.  
  • Sunscreen!  If your child is prone to sunburn, maybe think about sending sunscreen or a hat for extra sun protection.
  • Water bottle and a snack.  We will be taking a snack break each afternoon and it would be great if parents could send their child with a snack for each day.  If this is not possible for you, please reach out and we will help make it happen!

Pick up:

    • The program location will be split between the St. George School and Blueberry Cove Camp. 
    • School pickup: Please plan on picking your child up in the lower parking lot (regular drop off/pick up spot) on these dates: May 3, 19, 24, and 26
    • BBC Pick up: Please plan on picking up your child at Blueberry Cove Camp on these dates: May 5, 10, 12, and 17
    • We will be bussing students over to Blueberry Cove in order to work in the garden and to help build a compost system for the school garden.  Students will be dismissed at 2:45 from school on these days

If you need to reach us before, during, or after garden club, or if you need a reminder as to where our group is meeting on any given day, please call this number: (207) 491-6537 

Financial Assistance:

We understand that the cost of quality programming can be a financial burden and want our programs to be accessible to all families.

We have two ways to help lessen the financial burden:

  1. Flexible payment plans. Automatic payments can be set up in the registration system or you can manually make or send payments on a schedule that fits your budget.
  2. Apply for financial assistance during the registration process. We will help as many participants as we can on a first-come, first-serve basis taking into consideration family need and available funds. Priority will be given to families with Adjusted Gross Income less than $40,000 but all applications and circumstances will be considered.

About Ellie:

Ellie works as an Island Fellow in St. George to bring to life and light after-school programming for K-5 students.  She comes to this work with a background in outdoor education, and a love for the natural world and the coast of Maine.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Smith College and in her free time knits, bakes, and frequents the loop around Clark Island.