By Gary Lloyd
CLAY — Clay Elementary School first-grade students last week had their first lesson on what is involved in growing their own food.
McEnally’s Mercantile soil quality advisor Hamilton Trimm showed students what should be included and not included in creating healthy soil. Students also added items to a compost bin donated by the local store. The compost bin will be used in a future vegetable garden on the school grounds.
Five first-grade classes of the following teachers participated: Gina Hitt, Paula Cordes, Glenda Puckett, Tracey Smith and Debbie Mosley.
“Many of these students don’t know where food comes from,” said Cordes, the first-grade teacher who initiated the project. “Learning about agriculture can be integrated into many curriculum topics, such as history and reading.”
Students learned about clay soil and that it’s not good for growing soil. They learned that it doesn’t absorb water and turns into bricks. They learned what needs to be added to make good soil.
In addition to the March lesson to five first-grade classes, the project includes McEnally’s Mercantile hosting the students on a field trip and store personnel teaching two more in-school lessons in April. One of the lessons will be on the “role of bugs” in pollination, and the other will show food comes from plants that grow from seeds.
“This partnership is just the beginning of our outreach to support our local communities by encouraging and educating our youth about healthy foods and the benefits of living simply and naturally,” said store owner Kim Steffey. “We hope to form many more relationships like this that will help to make our community strong and sustainable for years to come.”
McEnally’s Mercantile opened on Old Springville Road in Clay in December 2013.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.