by Dan Simon

If ever there was a real world demonstration of what it's like to herd cats, trying to manage an enthusiastic group of seven-year old gardeners on their third day back to school certainly qualifies.

Second-graders at the Kings Highway Elementary School in Coatesville, Penn., during a gardening session. ©GreenWorks photo by Dan Simon

Dawn Lawless, an elementary school teacher at the King's Highway Elementary School, in Coatesville, Penn., had her hands full with the energetic kids as they compared gardening tools and examined all the fascinating insects that inhabit a well-fed garden. Still, the veteran teacher kept things under control.

"Things are a little confusing," she laughed. "It's only the third day of school, and it's a new class. They haven't learned my rules yet, and the way I like to do things."

For the past seven years, the school's faculty and children have been growing vegetables and donating them to an area homeless shelter while teaching students the principles of organic gardening.

Dawn Lawless teaches her students how a composter works to break down leftover garden materiels. ©GreenWorks photo by Dan Simon

"We pick stuff from our garden, like vegetables," said Emily Doyle, who'll be eight years old in a few weeks. "And then our teacher takes them to the homeless shelter.

"We water, we weed, we like, plant. We do a lot of stuff."

The program literally gets its "seed" money from the school's Parent-Teacher Organization, plus from whatever grant monies it can qualify for, Lawless, who helps run the effort said.

"It's approximately half the school that participates," she said. "Kindergarten, first and second grade, and some of the higher grades. Definitely all the kids as they progress through King's Highway have had some experience with it. Last year we had about 600, this year our numbers have dropped a little, so maybe half that number."

The seven-year-olds clean-up a cabbage bed that's been harvested. ©GreenWorks photo by Dan Simon Classes take turns dealing with the many chores needed to make the garden a success. The amount of time each group spends in the garden varies depending on the time of year and the school calendar. "I have spent from last year to this year with the garden," said seven-year-old Robbie Barrage who's favorite job is watering the plants. "You have to water from the roots. You need to point it right at the soil." Barrage also helps out at his family's home garden. As a veteran of the program, he said he sometimes helps show less experienced classmates what to do. "How to pick and stuff, mainly," he said. "On some plants you have to go from the bottom." Class participation tends to vary depending on the teacher and the time of year. "It really varies seasonally, and also varies from teacher to teacher," Lawless said. "As the school year winds down, it's not unusual to have a class out there once or twice a week weeding or mulching." Lawless shows a student how to harvest Swiss Chard. ©GreenWorks photo by Dan Simon During the summer, Lawless gets help from 35 to 40 local families who help maintain the garden while school's not in session. Once the new year starts in the fall, the next group of kindergarteners joins the effort, while the veterans in higher grades help show them the ropes. Each Wednesday is harvest day. Right now the gardeners are pulling an assortment of veggies, including tomatoes, carrots, swiss chard and more Lawless said. "It's a pretty substantial amount of food," she said. "We donate every Wednesday from the beginning of May or end of June to end of September. We're donating a couple of buckets every week. It all goes to the Citygate shelter in Coatesville." There are some benefits of introducing the kids to gardening that every parent can appreciate if Emily Doyle is an example. "I think that gardening, it teaches you stuff about how things grow, and how it like, takes time and to be patient about things." The seven-year-old was asked if she tended to be patient. "Not really," she said. "I'm like, I wonder if it's ready yet? Is it ready now? Is it ready when? When will it be ready?"