Hiatt Middle School Students to Plant School’s First Garden

A group of 20 Hiatt Middle School students will be planting the school’s first community garden after going through weeks of training on how to plan, plant and maintain a school garden.

Planting will take place:

Monday and Tuesday, May 13-14
8:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Hiatt Middle School
1214 E. 15th St.
(Garden will be located on E. 15th St.)

The students in charge of the garden are participating in the Breaking Bounds project at Hiatt. They spent six weeks going through extensive leadership and employability training in order to receive a free week of leadership camp this summer at Camp Foster YMCA in Spirit Lake, Iowa. The camp will be funded by a Community Betterment Grant from Prairie Meadows.

The Breaking Bounds project is designed to support a group of students bound together by various obstacles that put them in the at-risk category for dropping out of school. Their six-week training included learning how to work as a team, developing a respect for students of all backgrounds, improving academic achievement, developing a vision for the future that includes additional education and/or career training, and building experiences that students can draw from in social, educational, or business settings. Students also committed to participating in afterhours programming, academic counseling, and behavior support as needed.

Along with the students participating in the Breaking Bounds project, volunteer teachers and some of Hiatt’s severe and profound students will help with the planting next week.

Hiatt received a $500 Youth Garden Grant Award sponsored by The Home Depot and presented by The National Gardening Association to help start their garden.