Students Harvest Teaching Gardens in Bloomington

It's harvest time all over Illinois and thanks to the American Heart Association and Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, it's harvest time for a group of elementary school students at Pepper Ridge Elementary and Cedar Ridge Elementary school too.

This past Monday students at Pepper Ridge Elementary enjoyed their very own Harvest Day Celebration. Children in the school's Garden Club had spent months tending to the gardens just outside their school and this week they were able to pick the fruits and vegetables grown. The fresh picked produce included cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and even watermelon.

The materials for the "Teaching Garden" such as garden boxes and seeds were provided by a partnership between the AHA and Advocate Bromenn Medical Center. They also provided heart healthy curriculum to incorporate the lessons learned from hands-on gardening into the classroom.

The giving didn't stop there. The fruits and vegetables produced by the Garden Club were donated to local families in need. The kids enjoyed giving back to their community, learning about nutrition even getting to try new fruits and vegetables they may have never tried before. 

The Garden Club at Cedar Ridge Elementary will host their Harvest Day Celebration this Monday. Both schools will plant fall vegetables in the coming weeks. This was the first year for Pepper Ridge's participation in the program and the second year for Cedar Ridge.

The "Teaching Garden" program was started to raise awareness about childhood obesity. Schools are chosen based on a variety of criteria including space and volunteer/faculty support. For more information visit www.heart.org.