Urban Agriculture in Action
By Mary Dudley, CGC Director of Education
Students attending Erica Rausch’s classes at Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School (TAFT) on Friday, March 13, were in for a treat. While Erica’s classes are predictably awesome—buzzing with hands-on learning, genuine kindness and understanding, and rigorous academic activities—on this particular Friday, she had a few extra hands to help. Caroline from Keep Cincinnati Beautiful (KCB), Latonya from Groundwork Ohio River Valley (GORV), and Luis and I from the Civic Garden Center (CGC) were all in attendance to share time and knowledge.
The session was part of a series launched by KCB as they work to restore a community space managed by the Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC) in collaboration with the community. Students were asked what they would like to see at the new location and gave their thoughts on water features, trash can placements, dog park elements, garden beds, and more.
Our specific task for this Friday was to design layouts for the garden beds that will be installed in the community space and in the school’s garden. We brought ideas and plant lists and taught the students about things like the benefits of perennials and native plants and proper spacing for annual edible crops. We celebrated their creativity as they crafted pink-themed gardens, sketched out herbal gardens for health, and chose robust crops for school snacks.
Teachers are expert multitaskers, and Erica is one of the best. Not only was she coordinating this slate of presenters, she also had a fence installer scheduled to come and set up the fence for the school garden relocation (there’s more from Erica about her school garden journey below). The energy of these two projects happening simultaneously was inspiring. We see the stellar entries that TAFT students submit to our Green Teens Challenge, but this time we were in the midst of the action!
We were so honored to be part of the team of students, teachers, and community partners bringing projects like these to life in the city. Together we can do more, uplift each other, and show the next generation that the world isn’t always competitive and cutthroat. Keep up the amazing work, Erica. Your students and our community are grateful to you.
The Taft Garden Journey
As told by teacher Erica Rausch
In fall of 2024, Taft students and teachers began planning to create a school garden. With a grant from the City of Cincinnati's Office of Environment and Sustainability and the help of our school administration, the Civic Garden Center, Activities Beyond the Classroom, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, and the Cincinnati Rotary Club, we were able to add six raised beds to a shady section of the school grounds last spring. We learned a lot, had so much help from the above-mentioned organizations, and had amazing dedicated student volunteers, but our harvest was limited
At the end of our first growing season, we decided moving the garden to the opposite side of the building could help us be more connected and visible to the community while also increasing the sun and hopefully our garden yields. We again applied for and were awarded a grant from the City of Cincinnati's Office of Environment and Sustainability, this time to build a fence for the garden's new location. Over spring break, students, staff, and community volunteers moved our raised beds, soil, and equipment to the new location, and at our last garden club meeting, we planted our first seeds in the new garden! We are looking forward to what this growing season brings us, including sharing our harvest with neighbors.
