Students at the Regional Alternative School [RAS] in Bloomington are getting their hands dirty as they learn the importance of gardening and agriculture by growing their very own food.
The RAS program offers a different learning environment from traditional public schools, meeting students where they are. It serves students in grades 7 to 12 from Dewitt, McLean and Livingston counties, including those who’ve struggled in traditional school settings.
RAS Vocational Coordinator Brian O’Kraski said this was the third year of renting a plot from the West Bloomington Revitalization Project — a community garden space near Downtown Bloomington where anyone can reserve plots for $25 for an entire season.
O’Kraski explained the project is nearly a year-round process, including students in six different classes.
“In the springtime, we come out and clean the garden plot ... Even before that, in the wintertime, we’ll build raised planter beds, some benches [and] little storage areas as well,” O’Kraski said. “Kids [will] get the chance to work in our woodshop and learn basic carpentry skills.”
By late January, students worked with RAS teacher Armando Baez to begin growing their plants before they were transplanted into garden beds in the spring. The RAS staff helps tend the garden over the summer before students return in the fall.
According to O’Kraski, the vegetables harvested in the fall are then distributed between the school marketplace and other culinary projects.
“We’re really proud of it, it’s a lot of work,” O’Kraski said. “It’s one thing to talk about plants and produce in the classroom, but it’s another thing for them to get out and get their hands dirty.”
The project expanded this year from one to two plots of land used by the students. Baez explained how not only the plants, but the hard work of students grew between years one and three.
“Because of last year going really well, we doubled the space, so now we have twice the space to grow,” Baez said. “[With] all this work and all this effort from the beginning of the semester until now, you can really see these vegetables, fruits and herbs producing.”
Why students like it
Baez said his classroom had an average of three to four students who knew the basics of planting or even had family members with farming experience.
One of them is Chase, a student at RAS who has participated in FFA, an organization for students interested in agricultural studies.
As Chase showcased the food being grown in the garden, he explained why he felt it was important to partake in projects such as gardening.
“I feel like more people should [grow their own food] because it’s a dying profession, and not a lot of people do it anymore,” Chase said. “It’s obviously a good thing because without farmers, there’s no food.”
Kenny is another student who attends RAS and participated in the project. Kenny said his teacher, Baez, taught the class the importance of planting things you can find in grocery stores.
Corn was the primary plant that Kenny worked on raising. This was his first time growing anything, and he said it was nice to take after his grandma who used to garden as well.
“I would say learning which plants are better to plant than others,” Kenny said about his favorite part of the project. “Some take longer, but we mostly have plants that grow faster.”
