RAS Kids: Accomplishments
Recent Accomplishments, Honnors and Event Participation
Mary Arginteanu is Honored by City Council
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Honors
Mary Arginteanu is Honored by City Council
Kathy Graziano presented Mary Arginteanu with a special award on December 14, 2009, for her work in establishing the student/community gardens at Southampton Elementary.
Accomplishments
Native Plant Garden at Southampton
Thanks to Ginger's wonderful design plans and to some rather back-breaking efforts on the part of RAS Kids volunteers (Mary, Ginger, Nan, and Robin, plus some husbands and Mary's high school student tutee), the native plant garden at Southampton has been installed. More planting will be done in the spring, again under the direction of our native gardening expert, Ginger.
Butterfly Garden at Southampton
Using funds from a grant she received through her Salisbury Garden club, Donna has installed a wonderful butterfly garden at Southampton. Butterfly bushes, cone flowers and milkweed are now in place and, come spring, more host plants for caterpillars will be planted. For the winter, Donna had the 3 third grades plant pansies as well as Hyacinth bulbs. The third graders have been given an assignment to research butterfly gardens to figure out what to plant in the spring.
Outdoor Exploration with Southampton 3rd Graders
Joyce and Mary presented a successful “let’s discover” lesson in Southampton’s garden. The students made many observations pertaining to seasonal changes and animal adaptation.
Raised Beds at Southampton
Mary has consulted with many people to come up with a design for the raised beds that will be installed at Southampton for the kids to plant flowers and vegetables. Each grade will have its own section of the garden. In addition, there will be a bed for the community since many neighbors have expressed a desire to donate plants to the gardens. These beds will all be ready for spring planting!
George Washington Carver Appears at Swansboro
Against a backdrop of a huge clump of peanuts harvested from the kids' garden, a 5th grader did a great impersonation of George Washington Carver at a "book tasting" fair held at the school. Dr. Carver was in his lab coat and, with a little help from Nan, expounded on his upbringing and his opinions on the value of science and schooling.
Bulb Forcing at Southampton and Swansboro
Three third grades at each school participated with us in planting narcissus bulbs to take home to grow for the holidays. Thanks to Mary, George, Holly, and Sherry doing the teaching, the kids got lessons on plant parts, hypotheses, myths, and other SOL-related subjects. Many thanks go to Joyce for supplying the many materials needed for this activity!
"Words in Stone" activity at Swansboro
With Nan and Sherry's help, the 5th grade "Ladies of Swansboro" created two stone markers that read 'grow' and 'flower' along with a shell mosaic butterfly that is quite attractive to mark the school's new butterfly garden.
Bulbs and Christmas ornaments with Charity Family Life
Thanks to Donna for helping CFL kids plant bulbs and make Christmas ornaments.
Financial Supporters
In addition to the support we have received from Richmond Audubon Society , we have been successful in getting funding from Southampton Civic Association and the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs and a generous $5,000 donation from an anonymous donor. We are awaiting notice of Lowe’s action on a grant application. We also have received a substantial discount on purchases at Great Big Greenhouse and a donation of 250 narcissus bulbs from Brent & Becky Bulbs.
Special thanks to ALL who support our "No Child Left Inside" efforts in the RIchmond area.
Upcoming Events
SEE: FIELD TRIPS AND MEETINGS FOR CURRENT DATES
Activities at Peter Paul Development Center in Church Hill
Mary and Robin have met with Bob Siegfried who has been helping with the gardens at the Peter Paul Development Center in Church Hill. This is an after-school program similar to the one at Charity Family Life. We may do a couple of programs for them over the next couple of months -- making pine cone bird feeders, bulb-forcing, and lessons on bird identifcation using our plush singing birds.
Kids Doing Planning for the Garden
Sometime in February, the third graders at Southampton will be getting a lesson in planning for their spring garden (what vegetables and flowers they would like and what could be grown successfully).
Worm-composting
In April there will be a special class for the fourth graders at Southampton on worm-composting.
Actual Garden Planting (at both Southampton and Swansboro
Once the kids and teachers have decided what they want to plant, our intention is to support them with lessons and materials and with the actual planting. Volunteers will probably be needed!
Spring Fling at Southampton
Southampton School staff are planning a "Spring Fling" for early May. This will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new gardens at Southampton. This will be a cooperative effort involving kids, parents, the Southampton Civic Association, and us.
Peanut Butter Pinecones Birdfeeders and Bird Bingo at Charity Family Life
Date not set for this yet.
Heron Rookery Walk Downtown in the Spring for Charity Family Life
Date still to be set for this.
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