Green thumbs sprouting at NIKE

  Students with green thumbs can be found planting and harvesting lettuce, green beans, radishes, and strawberries at NIKE Alternative High School in Lido Beach. And growing right along with these and other fruits and veggies is the school’s gardening program.

Centered on project-based learning, the program began last year with minimal supplies. “We just sort of dug holes in the ground,” said program coordinator and English teacher Teri Young, laughing. But the district has since acquired a grant to expand the program.

As an avid gardener in her own backyard, Young was one of six teachers with the most experience in horticulture, and now she shares her knowledge with the students. Starting with a small vegetable garden, the program today boasts 16 raised beds on the NIKE property that was formally a military base. “The kids are pretty involved every step of the way,” said Young, who incorporates the garden into her English lessons.

Young isn’t the only teacher to use aspects of gardening to enhance learning. “It does engage [the students] and there are a lot of ways to tie it into our normal curriculum,” said Young.

Using geometry, the students created the plans for the beds as well as a shed that is being built this year, and in their social studies lessons they are learning the fundamental of the agriculture business.

Bernadette Martin, the organizer of the Farmer’s Market at Kennedy Plaza outside Long Beach City Hall, has been working closely with the students and hopes to give them a place to sell their produce at the market. Students may also be hired to work there, adding a vocational aspect to the program.

The program also provides a nutritional component, as students are taught the benefits of a healthy diet and an active lifestyle.

Young and Martin would ultimately love to have a greenhouse, and district officials are working with their architects to draw up plans to build it so that the program can continue year round.

NIKE caters to students in their sophomore, junior and senior years and enrollment varies from 50 to 60 students annually. Marcia Mule`, director of alternative and adult services, said the program is for students who find themselves struggling in a traditional high school setting.

Asked why the program is popular with students, Mule` replied, “It’s something other than sitting in the classroom.” She went on to say that it is a place where students aren’t judged by their academic standing. “There’s a level playing field in the garden,” she said.

Mule` and Young said the students’ ability to see the fruits of their labor help in keeping them focused and engaged. “These kids respond really well to hands on things,” said Young.

In addition to planting fruits and vegetables, students have also been planting trees. On April 20 the school planted a zelkova tree near the school’s entrance on Lido Boulevard. The tree was given to the district by the Greening of Nassau program, coordinated by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County, which strives to ensure the long term sustainability of mature trees. Last year the school district received a maple tree.

Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.