Point Road School Awarded Two Grants To Help Grow Its Garden Program

Little Silver's Point Road School will expand it studies outdoors, thanks to two grants that will help the school create a container garden in the its courtyard. 

The first grant is a $2,000 “School Garden Grant” from Whole Kids Foundation, a partnership of Whole Foods and FoodCorps, a national organization dedicated to countering childhood obesity and creating healthy food environments for kids. The second is a “Learning through Gardening Grant” from the New Jersey Agricultural Society (NJAS) that includes gardening materials, lesson plans, teacher workshops, and guidance from agricultural experts. 

The Whole Kids Foundation selected school’s proposal because, as stated by Whole Kids Foundation/FoodCorps, the proposed garden “exemplifies a viable, sustainable, and well-supported garden that, most importantly, is able to be integrated into students’  learning for years to come.” 

NJAS called Point Road’s vision for its edible garden “forward thinking” and “admirable,” congratulating the school on its “enthusiasm for integrating agriculture into the school’s curriculum” and adding that the project “promises to be a very exciting and educational experience for students.” 

Dr. Pamela Albert Devine, Point Road’s Principal Pamela Albert Devine said the school is thrilled to receive both grants.

“One of our garden project’s goals is to help children learn about nutrition and come to appreciate that planting and caring for a garden can contribute to their own health and well-being,”  Devine said in a release.

Students in grades PreK-4 will be involved in all phases of the garden project, from planting to harvesting and composting.

Bob Sickles, third-generation proprietor of Sickles Market in Little Silver, has also pledged to contribute to the creation of Point Road’s container garden. “Kids need to learn that playing in the dirt can be good, clean fun," Sickles said in a release.