Garden+ @NetZeroLee

Dear FamiLEEs,

My name is Keiko Nishino. I have worked in our school garden and offered educational programs for four years. Since September, I have been a part-time garden educator titled "Garden Guru" at RJL.

We grow vegetables and flowers outdoors & indoors, cook/taste our harvests, and decorate our garden and front loop area. I want to share our activities, so I created this newsletter.

Garden+ is a community for learners, educators, and families interested in our garden plus other activities. My dream is to co-create our environment with people in our community. I appreciate your ideas and feedback for our actions.

Welcome to the Garden+!

Ms. Keiko

As you know, many people use the front loop every day. Parents drop off & pick up their children, kids wait for the cars, and teachers work hard to move kids between the building and cars safely and promptly. So, I thought, "What if we can make a joyful front loop?".

In December and the last week, Kindergarteners and 3rd graders planted flowers and placed them in the front loop area for the first step.

What's next? We need your ideas. Let's spark our creativity and make a joyful front loop together!

In early January, we had a hard freeze, which damaged most of our crops, even with a frost cover. After the freeze, kids learned what the plants looked like, touched them to know their texture, which plants survived, which didn't, etc.

We learned about the harsh side of nature and thought about life when the food transportation system didn't develop. I hope kids learned how lucky we are to get food every day in the middle of winter.

The good news is we could harvest carrots & beets and taste them!

Garden Guru at Richard J. Lee Elementary

Master Composter from Irving

Certified in Native Plant Landscapes, Certified in Native Plant Landscape Maintenance from Native Plant Society of Texas

Coppell Community Garden member

Email: kenishino@coppellisd.com
Website: https://www.canva.com/design/DAE2C-LbQN8/DG-1zq9v7w0JCzSFjo-Ykw/view
Location: 8808 Chaparral Waters Way, Coppell, TX, USA
Phone: (214) 496-7900
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keiko.nishino.5836
Twitter: @keikoroann