Back to School and the 2010-11 Discovery Garden

Welcome back to another exciting year in the Terra Centre Discovery Garden.

With the help of a wonderful army of volunteers led by Karen Savell and Lauren Lentz, the Discovery Garden survived and thrived through the brutal heat of Summer 2010. We extend a warm thank you to all the Terra Centre parents that participated in watering and weeding this summer: Mimi Wormser, Jenn Glahn, Theresa Allen, Karen Savell, Debbie Davis, Jennifer Underwood, Christine Eads, Francesca Fitzgerald, Sherrie Walther, Daria Akers, and Laura Lewis.  The Discovery Garden could not have survived without your much appreciated help!

Below is a list of the many exciting Discovery Garden enrichment programs that we have planned for the 2010-11 school year. We look forward to another year growing with our Terra Centre Tigers in the garden.

Fall 2010

• Planting spring "TC" crocus bulbs on the hill above the garden
• Insects: The predator/prey relationship of the tomato horn worm and the predatory wasp
• Native American miniature popcorn harvest and popping
• Scarecrow construction
• Discovery Garden Salsa in honor of Spanish Heritage Month (September 15th)
• Green Tomato Cake -yummm!
• "The Fungus That Ate My School" & a study of the powdery mildew fungus affecting our pumpkins
• Virginia History--the Origin of the Peanut lessons
• George Washington Carver peanut lessons and harvest
• Gooseneck gourd maracas for music class
• Virginia History--cash crops & planting winter wheat
• Native American myths & storytelling in the outdoor classroom
• The Journey North Tulip Project on seasonality and global warming (http://www.journeynorth.com/)
• Pine cone birdfeeders with homemade sunflower suet
• The Pumpkin Lifecycle
• The Pansy Pattern Garden
• Virginia History --Monticello Cotton
• 4th Grade Colonial Fair
• Food for Others service project donations
• Garden observational journaling
• Composting & fall garden clean-up

Spring 2011

• Spring schoolwide "Salad Bowl Planting Day"
• Potato planting
• Thematic gardens (Early American/Jeffersonian, Three Sisters, Ancient Cultures, Medicinal Herbs, Cash Crops, Butterfly Garden)
• Journey North Tulip Project --emergence and bloom
• Donation of tulip bouquets to Healtherwood elderly housing
• Earth Day spring clean-up & mulching
• Spring Salad Bowl Harvest Day
• Food For Others service project donations
• The Great Potato Harvest
• Summer crop planting
• End of year clean-up/composting