Animas Valley Elementary School students harvest potatoes at the school's Garden Harvest Day on Sept. 18.
"Since last year, our Green Team students and the whole school have been working to renovate our garden to be more sustainable," said Kathleen Smith, 3rd Grade Teacher at AVE and one of the school's Green Team leaders. "With all their hard work, our garden is not only thriving, but saving water and teaching students to love vegetables."
Driven by student advocacy, the renovation focused specifically on water conservation. Students redesigned the garden to feature lower-to-the-ground planting beds, which retain soil moisture longer and significantly reduce water usage. The project also involved repairing leaks in older drip-irrigation tape to ensure water goes directly to crops rather than surrounding grass.
To celebrate the garden’s transformation, the Green Team helped organize Garden Harvest Day. The afternoon event brought together 45 attendees, including pre-K through 5th-grade students, parents, local farmers, and Animas Water Company representatives who helped approve grant funding for the project.
Garden Harvest Day participants harvest kale from AVE's newly renovated garden beds, designed to conserve water and retain soil moisture longer.
At the celebration, Green Team student leaders showed photos of the original garden and explained their reasoning behind the redesign. Attendees also heard from special guest Jerry Zink, who spoke about his family's deep ties to the land, sharing memories of growing potatoes in the exact location where AVE stands today.
Special guest Jerry Zink speaks to students about his family's history of growing potatoes in the exact location where the school stands today.
Young gardeners then went to work harvesting potatoes, kale, sunflower seeds, cilantro, coriander, dill, mint, bok choy, flowers, and tomatoes.
Students cleaned the potatoes, learned safe cutting techniques, and readied fresh produce for a meal. Together with community members, they cooked garden-fresh coriander and local onions with roasted potatoes on the grill, pairing them with freshly prepared kale chips.
Students use a mortar and pestle to grind garden-fresh coriander as a seasoning for roasted potatoes and onions.
"It was amazing to see the community come together, experience this new space, and sustainably feed our community members," Smith said. "Since the event, our cafeteria has been busy cooking many kale chips for the whole school to enjoy!"
Young gardeners collect sunflower seeds during the event.
Students and community guests gather outside to enjoy freshly cooked garden-harvested food and kale chips.
Students and teachers celebrate their harvest surrounded by crops and sunflowers in the school garden.
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School Storytellers: Thank you to AVE 3rd Grade Teacher Kathleen Smith, who shared this story tip and accompanying photos.
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