Rolling Hills Students Sport Green Thumbs for a Good Cause

So many moments got them excited.

When Henry the spider, as the Rolling Hills Elementary School students called him, reappeared in a corner of the garden.

When they talked about donating fruits and vegetables from their garden to local families in need.

And when—in the most fist-pumping moment of all—the bouncy students described their favorite part of gardening: pulling weeds.

"You have to get as close to the root (as you can)," 11-year-old Kyle Simmons said.

Simmons is one of nearly two dozen students in Rolling Hills Elementary School's Extended Student Services Program spending the summer sharpening his academic—and gardening—skills.

Three days a week, for about an hour in the morning, the students tend to their garden on the school campus. So far, they've harvested dozens of pounds of produce which they've donated to Peñasquitos Lutheran Church to pass on to families in need.

The burgeoning garden program (students just started planting in June) is about to move into a new phase, as the school looks to partner with Poway assisted-living facility Sunshine Care with a garden to bring together the elementary students, seniors and their shared love of fruits and vegetables.

Fred Simons, perhaps better known as "Grandpa Fred," said he drove past Sunshine Care's garden recently and it seemed like a perfect fit for the student's gardening program.

Simons has a grandson at Rolling Hills and also volunteers with the PTA. The garden was able to get off the ground thanks to a $5,000 donation from the PTA, and donations from Lowe's, parents, grandparents and the community.