The Neighborhood School/Star Academy Third Street School Garden Reconstruction: Plants and More!

For over two years, the facade of The Neighborhood School (PS363) and Star Academy (PS 63), located on Third Street, has been under construction. The existing garden was removed and construction equipment and rats moved in. Now the construction is over and our courtyard entrance is free and open, but there is no garden!

Parents, teachers and staff from both schools been collaborating and working hard to redesign and reconstruct a garden for the students. We have had many meetings to envision the garden space, surveyed students, parents and teachers on what they would use the garden for and what they want in the garden and have parent volunteer architects pull all this information together into a garden design. Now, we are in the materials and construction phase of building out the beds and realizing the vision of the Third Street School Garden.

We are currently ordering wood and materials to build the garden beds, benches and trellises. We expect that to take several days of volunteer labor. Once beds are built and put into place, we will line them with landscaping fabric, gravel and then fill them with soil. Students have been growing seedlings in their classrooms and will harden off plants outside and then plant them in the vegetable beds. Parents will work together to put in perennials, native plants, insect-friendly plants and do other maintenance tasks to keep the garden growing and safe.

Green space is political space--especially in urban areas. Many kids in the City do not have access to green space. They do not understand where our food comes from, how we are connected to nature, and our impact on nature. The garden space will serve as a learning space for students and also as a respite from the City. The garden has and will be a great way to build and strengthen our community.