Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Saddle Creek Garden Club - Cultivating Education ~ By, Julie Eggert

On the glorious sunny, clear Sunday afternoon of APril 10, 2011, several of the Saddle Creek Garden Club members gathered at Copperopolis Elementary School to work on the flower, herb and vegetable garden boxes.  There are eleven large garden boxes, one for each classroom.  Mother Nature had foiled their plans to have the students participate by raining on the original garden date, so the group needed to do it on a weekend without the children.  Soon the students will be introduced to their new classroom gardens.

Bonnie Schaefer and Eva Gress, Co-Chairs of the Garden Club School Project, gave me a tour of the garden boxes.  There were Johnny Jump Ups popping up all around, and there was a flowering tree, all making the scene bright and colorful.  They had planted zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, cantaloupe, pumpkin seeds, egg plant, and a wide variety of colorful flowers.  The drip irrigation that ribbons through the planter boxes is in place.  Rabbits discovered the gardens last year, so they may be sharing their produce!  When its time to harvest, the children can eat the produce, and it's also shared with the school cafeteria.

The plant choices were made by the teachers who follow up with instruction on the plants and their growth cycles in the classroom. Help planning the project was provided by Morris Nursery in Modesto, and Danny Farias, who has a landscape service and also has three students in the school.  This is the third year the Saddle Creek Garden Club has donated their time and funds; coming each spring and fall to work on the garden boxes.

Throughout the years the garden club has cleaned up and beautified many areas around the school grounds with a variety of flowers and plants.  They have big plans for a signature project near the bus drop off, with a huge cleanup, followed by new soil, plants, and a drip irrigation system.  Julia Tidball, the Principal, is enthusiastic about all the garden club has accomplished.  She says the beautification of the area where the buses drop off the students will be the school's welcome to the community, the students and the parents.  She hopes it will encourage students' pride in their campus, and resolve a safety issue for them as they walk up the hillside.  This project will be quite expensive.  If you wish to volunteer and/or to contribute to the beautification of the school grounds and thereby to our community, please contact Bonnie Schaefer at 785-1080, bbschaefer@caltel.com, or Eva Gress at 785-9386, evagress@gmail.com.  Contributions will be gratefully received and those who contribute over $500 will have their name placed on a plaque.  The garden club has paid for all costs to date.

The Saddle Creek Garden Club has been in existence for four years.  They meet in the Saddle Creek Sports Center, and have 35 members. They maintain a rich program of educational meetings, tours to garden related places, guest speakers and luncheons.  They are planning a May garden tour in Saddle Creek as a fund raiser for their activities.  They hold two luncheons in the Gold Room at Saddle Creek, and one open to guests.  More information may be obtained by contacting Bette Saylor, President, 785-5651, bettesaylor@caltel.com.



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