The Vegetarian Club has kicked off its first big project by starting a fruit and vegetable garden in the courtyard by the front lobby of the school. This idea was pitched by sponsor and special services teacher Yvonne Kehoe to her vegetarian and recycling clubs. The garden will contain foods like melons, squash, tomatoes, onions, corn, herbs and much, much more. It is expected to take up to three years for the garden to fully grow. Then, it can be used for the foods and nutrition classes. It could also possibly be used for elementary school field trips as well as the school cafeteria.

“I’m most excited to start something that is from a seed that ends up on a plate that is then eaten by a student,” Kehoe said. “I think just being apart of a community effort and making nothing into something is what the kids are most excited for.”

The goal for this garden is to teach students the importance of good nutrition and healthy eating. They get to see the process of growing food from planting the seed to harvesting it. With help from the recycling club and voluntary teachers, seedlings have already been planted in the greenhouse and the garden is already being set up.

“I think growing your own food is important,” volunteer and history teacher Amy Barlow said. “It teaches kids a skill. It’s very important that people learn what good nutrition is.”

Volunteers are needed to help plant seeds, as well as weed, set up and clean the garden. The more people helping, the quicker the garden can start and the quicker the foods and nutrition classes can have fresh fruits and vegetables. The garden is purely volunteer work and donations, meaning the club is not funded for anything they do. Students and teachers have donated all the supplies that is going into making the garden. The club meets Tuesday and Thursday every other week with the recycling club. They also meet on the weekends sometimes to work on the garden.

“The garden is a good thing for the school,” senior Sydney Weber said. “There are a lot of misconceptions about the vegetarian lifestyle that we get to teach people. We will be able to educate people on nutrition and get the vegetarian movement out there.”