By Sarah E. Murphy
The East Falmouth Elementary School courtyard garden renovation is providing students with tangible lessons about the rewards one can reap from perseverance, dedication, and collaboration.
Last fall, Kim Pulsford learned about the proposed project while attending a PTO meeting. Eager to share her experience planting and cultivating an eco-friendly environment, Kim, a self-taught gardener with limited knowledge but endless enthusiasm, decided to get involved by spearheading the volunteer committee.
Kim, who lives in Barnstable, is a familiar face at drop-off and pick-up, for she participates in school choice; her daughter, Luna is in kindergarten, so she drives her to and from school each day. A certified reading specialist, she was a classroom teacher at EFES prior to becoming a parent, therefore, she was already familiar with the PTO and its initiatives.
“East Falmouth has a very involved PTO, which includes some staff members, so we have a great group of volunteers working in the garden,” Kim said.
“It really helps when you have people with direct knowledge of the school, who are in the building on a daily basis, especially when it comes to communication and decision-making.”
While the primary goal is to cultivate the existing courtyard with new plantings and trans-plantings, the larger intent is to introduce students to an authentic, immersive gardening experience, providing engaging lessons tied to the curriculum, including science, nutrition, social-emotional skills, and math. The garden project also introduces children to the tangible - and edible - application of the “farm-to-table” philosophy through a partnership with the local farming community, illustrating its integral role in Falmouth’s past, present, and future.
The garden committee’s mission statement emphasizes the value of hands-on learning, environmental consciousness, planning, teamwork, patience, hard work, and empathy, encapsulated by their motto: “Nurturing nature, nurturing minds.”
To that end, the committee began working with with small groups of three to six students in Grades 2-4, overseen by parent and staff volunteers, on projects such as transplanting existing bushes and readying soil for new additions, with the health of the ecosystem as the overarching priority.
Kim’s first suggestion was to plant milkweed in the courtyard (which she added to her yard a few years ago) to attract and provide nourishment for Monarch butterflies. She has been rewarded for her efforts at home, witnessing the evolution.
“I’m so interested in Monarchs, so it was fascinating to see the entire life cycle, from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. I thought it was so cool, so I figured the kids would too, and it ties into so many of their science standards,” Kim said.
One of their main projects has been re-doing the existing scent garden, which was overgrown with sage, and adding lemon balm, lavender, oregano, thyme, rosemary, mint, and chives. Students discovered firsthand how herbs enhance the flavor of food, and they also studied the connection between scent and memory/emotion.
Other practical lessons have included: backyard and commercial composting; sun versus shade plants; beneficial versus detrimental garden organisms; annuals versus perennials; natural habitats; flagship species; seed pods; host plants; cold weather vegetables; pollinators; biodiversity; flowering plant cycle, and growth versus fixed mindset, to name a few.
For art teacher Anissa Graff, the garden provides an alternative space which allows her students’ creativity to wander beyond the confines of the classroom, therefore she looks forward to incorporating the renovation into her lesson plan.
“When the weather cooperates, I try to utilize the courtyard during art class as much as possible. Some of the activities the students participate in are observational drawing, chalk drawing, shadow drawing, sculptural building with large blocks, and painting on the outdoor easel,” she said.
“Students also planted bulbs this past fall in an effort to start an interesting visual garden we can paint ‘en plein air.’”
And it’s not just the students who are learning. Garden committee volunteer Kelley Sunkin is the mother of a second and fourth-grader at EFES and a sixth-grader at Morse Pond School.
“I’m new to Falmouth and I just met Kim through the PTO. I know nothing about gardening, and she is such a wealth of knowledge and positive energy,” Kelley said.
“She’s put so much time into the school to make this courtyard exceptional, working with the district and local businesses.”
Kim credited the generosity of the community, including donations of time, funds, and materials from Edible Landscapes of Cape Cod, which offered a few hours of complimentary consultation for suggested improvements, Mahoney’s Garden Center, and Hyannis Country Garden, in addition to grant funding from Coast of Maine. Moto Pizza in Waquoit also contributed by staging a fundraiser last December.
Laborers from the Falmouth Parks Division, under the direction of Falmouth Tree Warden and Parks Superintendent Jeremiah Pearson, will assist by planting seedlings of pawpaws from Edible Landscapes, in addition to Asian pears and persimmons from Mahoney’s.
Jenny Christian of local nonprofit Farming Falmouth has contributed her knowledge as a consultant to the project, which Kim hopes to expand by including students in the Falmouth High School food justice program. Additionally, the courtyard committee aims to contribute to Falmouth Public Schools’ participation in the Mass Farm to School Program, under the direction of Superintendent of Schools Lori Duerr and FPS Community Chef Laura Higgins-Baltzley, by providing fresh produce and herbs for the district menu.
In the meantime, introducing students to the simple joys of gardening is rewarding in itself for Kim.
“The kids are so interested and engaged. I love their enthusiasm. Everything is new and exciting,” she said.
“I get to learn with them and use my teaching skills. I also get to see them help each other and learn about teamwork and community,” she said, referring to C.J. Abarca and his classmate, Colin Goff.
“C.J. was a big help when we transplanted the sage bushes. The roots were so deep, but he persevered,” Kim said.
For C.J., gardening is a new experience.
“I like the fresh air,” he said.
“My mom doesn’t usually let me work in her garden.”
Colin agreed.
“I found a centipede when we were digging in the ground,” he said.
“I like the plants and how they look.”