Community Garden
Education
In an effort to encourage environmentally-friendly agricultural literacy among the Ashland community, Environa has constructed a community garden at the High School. We are immersing students into a program teaching how to grow vegetables and herbs first-hand for the school cafeteria.
We are devoted to maintaining the garden by coordinating its cultivation by volunteers from Ashland High School who are passionate about the ideals of environmental activism and community service. The garden aims to play a significant role in developing students' understanding of environmental science concepts in a real-world scenario. In association with the composting initiative, the garden will also serve as a proof-of-concept for a sustainable food cycle within the school and mitigate Ashland High School's carbon footprint.
Receiving donations of wooden planks and compost from Ashland Lumber and Weston Nurseries, we have assembled six 4' x 8' garden beds to grow fresh produce from parsley and basil to tomatoes and squash.
Working with the school cafeteria, Environa has initiated a tradition of Meatless Mondays to reduce global carbon emissions and help Ashland reach net zero by 2040. In turn, the community garden's fresh produce will be offered to students on Mondays so they can maintain healthy diets while remembering the importance of cutting down on their consumption of meat.
The garden will also be providing an outlet for the Ashland Food Bank to grow produce and provide emergency food supplies, without charge, to individuals and families in the community. Together, we are seeking to increase awareness about the problem of hunger in our communities.
