July 2014 Meeting: Tour of Oak Savanna and School Garden

For the Uplands July meeting, the club toured the Don Hawkins Community Oak Savanna in Mineral Point where we got a chance to chat with Don. We then visited the Mineral Point Elementary School Garden next door where we were wowed by the vegetable gardens created by Ryan Fox and the staff and students (and where we also got to do a bit of harvesting and sampling).

The Don Hawkins Community Oak Savanna

This past fall, 3rd graders from the Mineral Point Elementary School harvested and threshed seeds from the Oak Savanna with Don Hawkins and Don Hay. In winter, they bundled up and planted the seeds on top of the snow. When the snow melted, the seeds went into the ground and sprouted in spring.

At the end of February, the 3rd graders went to the high school to work with Mr. Robinson's students to plant seeds which were then transplanted into the Oak Savanna in May. This has been a great community/all school project that has been a part of the curriculum for years. It is a work in progress and someday will be spectacular.

Our thanks to all who are connected to the project!

Visit the Friends of the Oak Savanna Facebook page. 

Mineral Point Elementary School Garden

Uplands Garden Club members Ryan Fox and John Sharp and the grade schoolers have to be commended for the beautifully terraced, elevated planters full of vegetables! The peas were blooming and ready to harvest and we’ve never seen radishes that big! For anyone who has never seen soybeans up close, they are a sight to see too, especially when they bloom---in August.

The garden is located behind the Mineral Point Elementary School, off of Cothern Street.

Visit the School Garden on Facebook.