You all rocked out the workday!!! SERIOUSLY

Yes... I am talking about YOU. Special thanks, out of all the lovely people I've been fortunate enough to meet at Dickson, to...

Jennie Faile and Spencer Lyerly
Yumiko and Tom Virant
Katy Estrada
Michelle Bedard and Steve Agan
Suzanne Evans
Sharon (Enly's mom)
Emilio Ancaya
Shannon Fields and Matt Menne
Matt Parris
Ellen and Brent Edelman
Xandria Birk
Cordasia
Timbersong Academy
Joan Pinegar
Dorothea Schulz
Bunches of children

Here's a slideshow, that I'm too tired right now to annotate:

We moved four beds, planted the greenhouse, organized the kitchen, installed a Little Free Library, stored 50 hoses for the winter and had a very nice meal together! Big shout outs to Principals Johnson and Cobb for encouraging us, Steve Wyda for designing the garden and Asheville Mulch Yard's Daniel Pope for his amazing soil. I can only hope that EVERY monthly garden work day is as fun and productive as December's :) 

Let me close out our last post of 2016 by saying...may your holidays be full of joy, introspection and plans to grow in new, vigorous and robust ways -- into your family, friends and community. 2017 is a year that will be precious, like any other, and not to be squandered! Let it be the year that you draw a line in the sand, and commit all the extra time that ends up being necessary to hold it. ;)

Won't you come out for our first IDES garden workday?

It's been a couple of weeks since we shared with you some of our goings-ons... so here is some eye candy of that sort:

Outdoor ed, courtesy of the learning/playing station on the NW edge of campus that AVL Greenworks helped install

Pumpkin measuring fun at the outdoor ed centers!

Now that's taking her around the equator :) Mrs. Sizemore's class (not pictured) got to experiment with the biodegrading of pumpkins!

All the fantastic mineral-filled cooking greens that Joan & Co have grown, right out the back door of Dickson classrooms...

Ms. Leslie's class, helping to harvest greens (pretty sure these ended up on plates at the Soul Food Potluck ;)

...let's learn...

How does one cook an egg?   ....

...I'm pretty sure that 'carefully' is part of the recipe :)

Making apple crisp... it takes hands, utensils, and eager minds you know

What our community garden space will look like, after the first seven steps of 'Phase I'

Ms. Ellen's 3rd grade, making personal pizzas

So many yummy olives... now, that is MY kind of pizza!

Mr. Agan did a great job making us a flier for our first big 'Workday' at the garden, next Saturday, Dec. 17th, from 10 AM to 1 PM. He wrote:

We will be getting the greenhouse “ready to grow," moving four raised beds, and moving soil for blueberry bushes and the seating area. Hot chocolate and hot tea will be provided, and the kitchen will be open. High temps likely in the mid-40’s, so dress warmly! (But don’t be discouraged from coming out, just like we do for the HC10K.)

What we are doing, basically, is the first of seven 'stages' that will allow us to complete the first phase of our community garden space at the school. When finished with Phase Three, we will have an educational farm and garden unlike any other in the state!!! Please RSVP to Joan (a link to her email is linked on the upper right of this page) if you plan on coming out...

I sincerely hope to get to meet some of you -- who have been reading our blog and cheering for us but maybe haven't shown up in person yet -- next Saturday. Bring your kids, bring some gloves, and come get dirty and productive with us! =)