Photos: Expanded Greenport School Garden, Created With 'Seeds of Change' Grant, Unveiled

GREENPORT, NY — "Inch by inch, row by row, Gonna make this garden grow. All it takes is a rake and a hoe. And a piece of fertile ground. Inch by inch, row by row. Please bless these seeds I sow."

The sweet voices of schoolchildren singing filled the air in Greenport Friday as they filled their hands with soil under sunny blue skies, with music playing, and Greenport Schools Superintendent David Gamberg welcomed them, along with elected officials, teachers and parents for a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating a newly expanded school garden.

The district won a $10,000 "Seeds of Change" grant in May and on Friday, the fruits of those efforts took shape, with the planter boxes created by students and signs designed by art classes.

"We're going to give everyone here a chance to grow our garden," Gamberg said.

Each student was allowed to fill a cup with soil and pour it ceremoniously into the planter box, the first steps toward growing the fruits and vegetables that will flourish there.

When the carrots, peppers, pumpkins, corn strawberries and other seeds grow, the fruits and vegetables will be served in school and shared with the community, Gamberg said.

Down the line, flowers will grow and a fence will surround the garden, Gamberg said.

"Classes will be held outside and there is so much more you're going to be learning about and doing," he told he students. "This is really just the beginning."

The superintendent thanked all who had worked together to bring the day to fruition, including school nurse Carol Worth, who planted the first seeds with a dream for a garden at the school in past years.

Also in attendance were Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard and Soutold Town Councilwoman Jill Doherty.

In May, after days of voting and excitement, Greenport Schools emerged the winner of a $10,000 grant in the "Seeds of Change" grant contest.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for Greenport, our children and the entire learning community. We are very grateful to all who supported our effort to secure this grant," Gamberg said.

The community garden at Greenport Schools will flourish even more beautifully with the help of the contest, which awarded a total of $300,000 in grants.

The "Seeds of Change" grant program awarded two schools and two communities each $20,000 grants; Greenport was one of 10 schools and 10 communities that each won $10,000 grants.

A $5,000 "Garden Ambassador Award" will be given to each of the four individuals who submitted the selected $20,000 grants.

Gamberg has described how the grant would be used:

The grant, he said, will "allow our school garden to grow and become a focus for the health and wellness for both the children and families of our community."

Before winning the grant, he said, the school garden was very small and located in back portion of the school property. "This grant will enable our school to substantially increase the size of the garden and relocate it to the front portion of the campus, thus encouraging greater participation by families and civic groups in the neighborhood."

He added, "As a school community with over 70 percent of our student population eligible for free or reduced lunch, we must promote healthy eating in an effort to give our students a better opportunity to learn and thrive both in and outside of school."

The grant will help educate students and their families through a summer camp component, printed brochures, mailings, creating 'how to' videos, conducting cooking classes, and shared resources with the neighboring school district, Southold, "which already has a thriving school garden," Gamberg said.

To learn more about Seeds of Change, click here.