Cat's Apple Tree in Bloom
by Catherine Haug May 19, 2012
The main tenets of the ESP mission are: building community, and learning to live sustainably. What better way to live up to both of these, than to help our local children learn about growing their own food. Especially in urban communities, most children have no concept of where food really comes from. We see this even here, when children (and even some adults) see our Community Cider Press at Tamarack Time! and exclaim, “I didn’t know that’s how you get apple juice!”
We would love to see gardens and/or orchards at local Bigfork area schools as well as elsewhere in the valley. We would love to have our teachers embrace the importance of such a project, but so far have met with resistance – mostly due to shortage of time and prior commitments.
An expression of support for this project from parents and the general community would be welcome! Meanwhile, we have an opportunity to provide an orchard for Kalispell Middle School.
Dreyer’s Fruit Bars is currently sponsoring an online competition called “Communities Take Root,” and Kalispell Middle School has entered the competition for an orchard. To win the competition that began on April 26, the school must get the most online votes by May 31. You can vote once a day, every day at CommunitiesTakeRoot.com, until the competition is closed.
The Flathead Beacon article: Kalispell Middle School Hopes to Get Fruit Orchard has more information about the project. See also Edible School Yard Project and Whole Kids Foundation: School Garden Grants for more about gardening in the schools.
Read on for how to vote.
