We have a vision. A vision of collaboration. Collaboration in a beautiful space where students and teachers can gather in an extended outdoor classroom to support experiential learning. A place where nature provides opportunities for our children.
Our garden — from the planting of the first seed in the spring to putting the garden to bed in November — is a labor of love and teamwork between students, teachers, parents, and volunteers.
This outdoor classroom is the perfect environment for our students and teachers to learn about things like:
And so much more!
The garden is a perfect way for students to make a real connection to their environment and explore the endless opportunities available to them via independent food production. We have several programs that take advantage of the tremendous opportunities the garden provides.
Each Monday, our students harvest produce from our raised garden beds and sell it to the school cafeteria to be used on the salad bar or in food made from scratch. The vegetables from our garden are grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Our school garden provides more than 100 pounds of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, peas, peppers, radishes, strawberries, onions, zucchini, and carrots to the cafeteria each fall.
Each Friday in the fall, our students harvest from our garden and partner with Slow Food Denver to provide fruits, vegetables, flowers, to exchange for donations at the student-run market on the school grounds. This event is widely attended not only by parents but by our community neighbors. The Youth Farmer’s Market closes in late October with a huge pumpkin and caramel apple sale that sells out every year.
This year we are launching a new program between our school and community neighbors with the School and Community Chicken Program!
The Cory Garden Committee application has received final approval from the Denver Public Schools Sustainability and Greenhouse Department and Denver Urban Gardens to host their chicken program.
Cory Elementary is one of only three schools to host chickens as a part of their education program. Each program allows for the school and community members to work together to learn about raising, caring, nurturing and harvesting eggs from chickens. It also provides for students to interact and become key players in the chicken co-op family. Raising chickens fosters community collaborations, creates teachable moments, builds self-esteem and instills responsibilities within all of its members.
What are the benefits of the Chicken Program?
If you are interested in volunteering in the garden or with our chicken program you can contact Skeeter Buck or Summer Griffin.
Bonnie Plants gifted the garden hundreds of dollars worth the plants for the garden and for our plant sale.
Country Line Lumber donated hundreds of dollars worth of lumber to the garden for us to be able to build the garden boxes.
Councilman Kashman’s office helped us with our historic permitting for the chicken coop.
Lowes donated hundreds of dollars worth of paint and supplies to the chicken coop project.
