In 2004, the CGC received
a call from Susan Vonderhaar, a parent of students from Dater Montessori.
She requested that Dater be on the Neighborhood Gardens tour. I
replied that they weren't even part of our program. She sounded
surprised.
The CGC helped build a Nature
Center at Carson Montessori in 1990. In 2000, Carson returned to
a neighborhood school and The Montessori program moved to Dater.
They immediately set about building gardens, with the help of OSU
Extension, funding from Summertime Kids, and KCB. What we have been
trying to achieve all of these years was taking place without our
knowledge – TRAIN THE TRAINER. We immediately added Dater to our
list and scheduled them to be on the 2005 tour.
(ENCASE) is a program which
pays part-time informal Environmental Educators to conduct monthly
outdoor lessons and activities for the entire student body. Students
experience hands-on learning of plants, animals, decomposition and
ecology. Teachers and students love it!
The School has raised
beds for vegetable gardening, a native plant prairie, an arboretum,
and a recycler's garden.
To read a recent article
about what is happening in the Dater Montessori garden, check out
the Winter, 2007 CGC newsletter.
