Riverwood Awarded Lowe's Toolbox for Education Grant

From Riverwood Intl: With a generous donation from the Lowe’s Toolbox for Education program, the Riverwood International Charter School Foundation will create an outdoor classroom and garden. The new outdoor space will benefit a cross-section of programs and students, and the community at large. The $5,000 grant is for a cooperative, student-led garden. The planning group includes students from Environmental Science, Engineering, and Culinary Arts classes. A major goal is to include meaningful participation from not only the Science, Engineering, and Culinary students, but also the Community Based Instruction (CBI) students as well as members of the Recycling Club.

The students’ vision for the outdoor garden and classroom includes raised beds, retaining walls, a small orchard, a pollinator garden, herbs and annuals, a composting area, a walking path, and areas for small group discussions and collaboration. The Environmental Science students will explore soil systems, human population carrying capacity, biodiversity, and conservation. Engineering students will address soil management, erosion, and harvesting methods. Culinary Arts classes will use the edible forest to practice and understand sustainability and farm to table cuisine. The CBI students will gain life and job skills training, while experiencing hands-on STEM studies and working side-by- side with their peers. The Recycling Club plans to compost coffee, shredded paper, and food waste to reduce the school’s solid waste stream. Due to construction of new facilities at RIverwood, the previous outdoor garden closed in 2015.

The Lowe’s grant allows Riverwood to create an even better outdoor learning environment that will connect even more disciplines and learning methods. Students also plan to share the bounty of their garden with the local Sandy Springs community by providing seasonal vegetables to elementary students attending the Sandy Springs Mission’s after school tutoring program.

Image Via Riverwood Intl