Hunt PTO Update 9/5/12

Hey There Hunt families - Welcome back and/or welcome to the strange world we call middle school.  Hope that you and your kiddoes had a great summer and that you are settling in nicely at Hunt.  Next time you're at Hunt, take a gander at some of the improvements spearheaded by the Hunt PTO including our gorgeous perennial garden out front, new stone benches at the entrance and some fresh paint in the school entrance.  Many thanks to the families that watered our new flowers all summer long and now into the Fall. 

Six and seventh graders and their families were welcomed onto their teams last Wednesday and the PTO was around to sweeten the experience.  Thank you to Jane Earley and Jenny Tomczak for their help serving and securing ice cream for a successful ice cream social held out back at the Healthy City Youth Farm. 

Healthy City Youth Farm Summer Report

What a busy summer the Healthy City Youth Farm has had! Fifteen Hunt and Edmund students spent five weeks growing, tending, and harvesting vegetables at the HCYF site and other nearby farms.

The crew spent approximately ten hours per week practicing culinary skills with our Farm-to-School chef from Burlington Schools Food Service. Students created a side dish for every school lunch using produce from the garden and cooked up delicious family meals every week including flatbread, sambusas, and papusas. A math teacher was present for fifteen hours a week, integrating math lessons into field work and cooking.

Creating community connections was a major focus for this summer. Students helped senior citizens plant and maintain the gardens at the Heineberg Senior Center. Guest speakers from local organizations spoke to students about social justice issues. Field trips and bike rides were taken to community gardens where we spoke to community members from around the world!

The Healthy City Youth Farm was also showcased in the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference this August. Over sixty farmers and educators from around the nation took a field trip to the farm where they met the HCYF crew and learned about our program!

Use of Green Mountain Compost products at the Healthy City Youth Farm

As many of you are probably aware, Green Mountain Compost products recently tested positive for the presence of persistent herbicides.  This spring roughly 50% of the vegetable beds at the Healthy City Youth Farm received the tainted compost as an amendment.  Vegetables grown in those beds will not be used in the school cafeterias or given to student or families.  Steps to begin the process of remediation have already been taken and we will continue to provide updates as they are available.

 

Further information about the contamination, remediation plan, and compost testing is listed below:

http://www.greenmountaincompost.com/2012/08/recommendations-for-accelerated-remediation-of-persistent-herbicides/.

http://vtdigger.org/2012/08/11/compost-contamination-investigation-widens-latest-testing-shows-conflicting-results/.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012308100037.

If you have further questions, feel free to contact:

Sam Smith

Program Director

Friends of Burlington Gardens

802-861-4769

 

Anne Marie Santos

Healthy City Program Coordinator

Friends of Burlington Gardens

802-598-3765

Save the Date....

• September 10 - Picture Day
• September 15 - Coffee Break Bake Sale at Williston Rest Stop - 7:30am-3pm
• September 20 - Hunt PTO meeting - 7pm
• September 26 - No School - EID al-ADHA
• September 27 - Open House for Parents