On Monday, the last day of school for the children at the Block Island School, the 4th graders (soon to be 5th graders) planted a variety of plants that they had grown from seed into the OVF community garden. Each year the 4th graders choose a few veggies and flowers to grow from seed. Throughout this process the children learn how to care for a plant and garden, the life-cycle of a plant and the importance of agriculture and local produce. As the summer progresses, the students will have garden "work" days about once a week where they will make a scarecrow, weed, water and harvest the summer's yield. It was so fun to see all of the pride and excitement the kids had for this project.

One of the students and I at the community garden planting.

One of the most important aspects of "island living" is the ability for one to be as self-sufficient as possible. Gardens allow the owner to personalize what they want to get out of the garden (whether it be flowers or food) and to what extent they want the garden to be (large and labor intensive or small and low maintenance). Gardens also allow the individual to control what they are eating in terms of fertilizers and pesticides.

All in all, this student based community garden is something to admire. Lucky for you, you can! All you have to do is go to the Ocean View Pavilion (the entrance is off Water Street, past the Post Office, between Ernie's and Ballard's) and turn right after the cigarette butt statue. Walk in between the two sets of stairs left from the Ocean View Hotel, and onto the boardwalk. Follow the boardwalk to the end and there is the garden! Great job 4th Grade on a fantastic garden!

The BI 4th graders posing for a group photo in their garden.