Join Lincoln Northeast High students, Civic Nebraska, and community partners on Aug. 2 for a Garden Gathering to see the progress of Northeast’s student-led community garden at the school.
The Northeast community garden was built in 2022, when students, teachers, and community partners installed and planted a row of new garden beds as part of a project that cropped up during English Language Learners’ reading of a novella about community, diversity, growth, and acceptance.
The garden is now enjoying its second growing season. Enjoy a student-led garden tour, sample local produce, and get insights from LPS staff and community partners about the garden. Anyone interested in gardens and outdoor learning efforts is welcome to join in.
Rocket ELL students conceived and organized the garden after reading Seedfolks, a 1997 short work by Paul Fleischmann. The novella follows a Vietnamese girl and a diverse group of immigrants who transform a vacant Cleveland city lot into a community garden with crops from each character’s home country. Along the way, they grow, reflect, and form lasting bonds.
Civic Nebraska’s Community Learning Center at Northeast teamed with the students to bring the project to the school. ELL students designed the beds in their classes and planned and designed what would go in each bed.
In addition to experiencing how the garden builds community, students examine how plants and ecosystems work together and gain insight into pollination, composting, and germination.
Several community partners made the gardens possible, including a University of Nebraska focus program at Northeast that prepares students in the areas of food, energy, water, and societal systems. The Kiwanis of Northeast Lincoln also donated time and resources to build the corrugated metal beds.
You can RSVP for the gathering, which will be from 9 to 11:30 am at the school, 2635 N. 63rd St., with this form. Hope to see you there!
