Sisters Garden Club helps students

Kids, parents and teachers from Sisters Elementary School, with help from members of the Sisters Garden Club, squeeze into the school's greenhouse to plant strawberries. photo by Tom Chace

The red-painted "Greenhouse" at Sisters Elementary School is a busy place these days with young students learning about plants and gardening from parents and members of the Sisters Garden Club.

The program is entirely voluntary and when the word went out that the school would resume this innovative program, 80 youngsters signed up instead of the 20 expected.

The children work in groups in the greenhouse every day during their lunch hour and two afternoons each week. They got significant help from the garden club.

"Sisters Garden Club received a request for funds to help the elementary school buy tools, equipment and supplies," said Lorena Blivens, club member. "We donated $2,000 this year towards that project."

An additional $100 came from the school and $200 from SPTC (Sisters Parent-Teacher Council).

There is no charge to the participating students for plants or supplies.

On a typical Monday noon, November 10, about 10 kids jammed into the small greenhouse along with Shannon Pollard and Vonda Soliz, parents who were there to help with the two garden club volunteers, Mary Crow and Blivens.

Each youngster was handed a four-inch plastic pot into which they mixed planting soil. Then each was given a cutting of an ornamental strawberry vine, brought from her home by Blivens, who taught them about the process and then helped them in the planting.

They learned about tapping the soil, "firmly but not too hard," use of fertilizers and need for water and sunlight.

They will be able to take their plant home.

"Last year we grew many flowers and plants from seed," Blivens said. "I have already written to a number of seed companies asking for sample flower and vegetable packets we hope to get donated."

There is a heated greenhouse at Sisters Middle School (formerly Sisters High School) that was provided by a donation from Lark Gardens in Powell Butte. Although the greenhouse at the elementary school is enclosed and covered with plastic, permitting light to come into the shed, it is not heated.

The students in the program there can also use the greenhouse at the middle school should the need arise for heated, indoor facilities.

Mary Crow is a retired librarian and when given the chance to get back into school work, even as a volunteer, "I jumped at it," she said.

The Sisters Garden Club has made contributions to the middle school greenhouse over the past several years to pay for the cost of heat and to keep the facility in good repair.

Money for these contributions comes from proceeds generated by the Home and Garden Tour, sponsored each year by the Sisters Garden Club during the week of the Sisters Quilt Show.

"Our purpose in sponsoring this project at the elementary school is to stimulate an interest in gardening," Blivens said. The planting of the ornamental strawberries we did here this week will be taken to the heated greenhouse for the winter."

Vonda Soliz said that one of their future projects will be to plant hanging baskets.

"We are in need of obtaining containers for our baskets," she said. "We also want several dads to help us restore the flower beds alongside the greenhouse and to rebuild flower beds."

She said that they welcome anyone interested in gardening to help with this community educational project.

For more information call Soliz at 504-4516.