A Mountain Valley School Project
Mission Statement: 
""To create a self-sustaining garden and greenhouse that will provide organic produce year-round, physical exercise, educational opportunities, and a deeper connection with the earth for students, parents and community members while instilling a greater sense of achievement in our school and our selves."
Thank you
for supporting the Saguache Community Garden
Community Garden Receives Grant Award
The Saguache Community Garden is happy to announce the receipt of $7500.00 from the Colorado Garden and Home Show. “Colorado Garden Show, Inc., a non-profit corporation, is dedicated to creating and producing quality garden shows, flower shows, home shows, and other events to provide funds for horticultural-related grants and scholarships and events for the benefit of the greater Denver area and the State of Colorado”. This is the second grant award the garden has received and the director, school, and garden members are very grateful for their continued support of the Mountain Valley School and Saguache Community Garden.
Plans for the funds include landscaping the courtyard area with flowers and shade plants, sculpting the “big garden” with student-made paving stones, benches, and possibly a shade gazebo; purchasing additional educational material for the school and County Library; acquiring large planters for the County Library; installing an irrigation system for the outside garden; and giving custom-made t-shirts to garden members, students and other supporters of the Saguache Community Garden. The t-shirts will have the garden logo and a statement of gratitude to Colorado Garden Show, Inc.
As the garden moves into the planting season, its members, students, and supporters are looking forward to the limit-less possibilities of growth this project offers. Growth which is nurtured by foundations like the Colorado Garden Show, Inc., SLV LiveWell, Saguache County, Mountain Valley School, and private donations from community members. “Thank you”, very much to each of these and many other organizations and individual people who help make the Saguache Community Garden the success that it is.
Garden Receives Additional Funding
The abundance of life keeps being reaffirmed for the
The second source of funding for the community garden comes from the Saguache County Sales Tax Award. One percent of the County’s sales tax receipts are set aside and awarded out to various organizations throughout Saguache County by the Saguache County Board of Commissioners in three different categories: a) Emergency services, public health & safety; b) Programs, projects and organizations which benefit youth and senior citizens; and c) Renewable energy projects and/or business opportunities and job creation. The garden received $2000.00 this past grant cycle and we are again very grateful for this award to help with operating expenses. This is the third year in a row we have received grant awards from the county in the youth and senior category.
The
Saguache Community Garden News:
Much has happened in the Saguache Community Garden and project in the few weeks since the end of the Saguache Library Reading and Gardening program. The project tee-shirts have arrived and many have been given out to the summer program participants, adults, students, parents, MVS Board members, staff, and teachers. They are made available through a Colorado Garden Show grant award. They look great and are very comfortable. If you see the program director, Leigh Mills, stop and ask her for one.
The garden plants are growing like crazy and many people are enjoying the yummy produce coming out of the garden. Flowers, lettuce, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, red and golden beets, strawberries, and carrots have found their way into the food bank’s and garden members’ refrigerators. Just last week, 30 pound of produce was harvested and given to the Saguache Food Bank, including the garden’s first watermelon. We’ve experienced a minor miracle, too. The MVS first grade planted corn in their courtyard container last May. Many folks, including the director, doubted that any corn would grow on the few stalks that grew in the small container. Last week, a dozen ears were harvested and given to one of the students who planted the corn seed. Check in next week to see how those ears were enjoyed.
Another wonderful happening was the installation of the “Big Garden’s” irrigation system. This has been a process of learning and experiment and it has paid off well. What a joy it is to go into the garden, lift up the water-hydrant handle, set the timer, and walk away. The courtyard still needs some personal attention, however, that task becomes very easy compared to the almost two hour endeavor that it once was.
The Garden and MVS courtyard are beautiful right now! Flowers, food, shade plants and seedlings are ready to be seen and enjoyed by all. Community garden members and director will be hosting tours of the new landscaping and garden area this coming Monday, August 23 from 9am until 1pm. This is the same day as the school’s Open House and we invite everyone to check out the Saguache Community Garden and its amazing progress this year.
School starts the day after the Open House and the director is looking forward to working with the MVS students while they harvest their garden beds, create personalized paving stones for the ‘big garden’, and then get their class garden beds ready for the winter and coming spring. There’s lots of work still to be done until the first snow flies and still lots more afterwards, too. The gardening program will continue with science-based activities in the classrooms, while engaging the students physically out in the garden.
Many people have helped with the building, planting, weeding, watering, landscaping, harvesting, and general maintenance of the ‘Big Garden’ and MVS courtyard. The Director is very appreciative of their help and gives a very big THANK YOU to everyone who has helped with the project this year.
The Saguache Community Garden is a project of the Mountain Valley School. Our motto is: “Growing Seeds, Minds, and Connections”. For more information about the project, please contact the director Leigh Mills at Alchemy9@hughes.net or 655-2011.