After weeks of planning and dreaming, we ‘broke’ ground and built our raised beds at the Northfield Middle School. The process began with a trip to Menard’s—buying wood, sand and screws. After an hour or so of familiarizing ourselves with the cedar section (who knew there was so much to explore?!), we were set and ready to go build. We loaded up the car and headed to the middle school. With blue skies, green grass and the sun shining, we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day! We got the general structure built and then left to let the electric drill charge up.

We returned a few days later to finish up the job. Unlike last time, the blue skies and sun had been replaced by gray clouds and rain. But, not even rainy weather could get our spirits down, as we knew that we were going to finish up the raised beds today. We completed drilling the raised beds, dug holes to put the stakes in and then used sand and dirt to secure them in the ground. Finishing up, we were soaked, but with huge smiles! The raised beds were built!

We then headed to the middle school to lead a class with our gardeners on the parts of the plants we eat—making spring rolls (Thanks to Kids Cook Classroom for the lesson idea). The next step for us is soil, and then planting!

Written by Erin Roth ’16