Volunteers from the College of Charleston, Green Heart Project, and Jerry Zucker Middle School of Science will join Boeing on Saturday, July 27, 2013 at the middle school (6401 Dorchester Rd, North Charleston) to build an outdoor math and science classroom that will support youth experiential learning activities made possible by the installation of an “urban farm.”
“Boeing’s commitment to K-12 education and to the community has been incredible,” says Olivia Thompson, Ph.D., College of Charleston assistant professor and farm-to-school director. “We are really very grateful to have been selected as one of their Global Month of Service sites as it will quite literally ‘take a village’ to install our next urban farm.”
The urban farm at Zucker Middle School will be the second in Charleston County. The pilot urban farm was constructed over the past academic year at Mitchell Elementary School in downtown Charleston with support given by the Green Heart Project and the College of Charleston’s farm-to-school initiative which is funded by Boeing.
Watch a video about this project.
“The goal of the farm-to-school initiative is to increase the availability of and access to healthful, local foods as well as to stimulate the local economy,” says Thompson. “Buying and eating local foods builds a strong local economy and preserves personal and community health. Farm-to-school programs create a market for area farmers and make it possible for children to have consistent access to nutrient-packed foods such as locally grown fruits and vegetables.”
For more information, contact Dr. Olivia Thompson at thompsonom@cofc.edu.
