Hi! My name is Jen McCullough and I am principal of Morgridge Academy at National Jewish Health, a school for chronically ill children. We began working with Denver Urban Gardens in early 2015 when they helped us design our school garden. They provided us with the garden design and helped us build three raised beds the first year. We grew an abundance of lettuce, enough to feed our students, send home to families, and even donate extra to a hunger relief organization.
We thought it would take years to build out our whole garden. But in 2016, DUG worked to help us acquire a grant to build out the whole thing. We worked alongside our school and hospital communities to triple the size of the garden. That summer, we were able to work with students to grow way more than just lettuce. Our garden included tomatoes, peppers, kale, cucumbers, zucchini, herbs, squash, and even a few cantaloupes. DUG also helped us plant perennials, grape vines, and raspberry bushes that make the garden both functional and beautiful.
Our students have benefitted greatly from the science and nutrition education that our garden has made possible. 85% of our students are at or below the poverty level. Many of our students live in food deserts, or areas where it is difficult to get fresh food. As part of our problem-based learning model at Morgridge, our sixth and seventh grade students worked alongside their teachers and DUG employees and volunteers to plan the second year of our school garden, grow and harvest the food, and find a way to distribute it to the school and community to mitigate the effect of the food deserts. Throughout this process they developed math, literacy, science, and social studies skills. In just one project, they researched and worked collaboratively, and wrote essays and speeches. It was inspirational to see our students, who often struggle because of their illnesses, so engaged and solving problems thanks to our partnership with DUG.
We could not have accomplished any of this without the added hands, minds, and resources of DUG. Thank you! #WeDigDUG!
