Hays Middle School students inspired to grow green

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Members of the Hays Middle School Garden Club show off their vegetables to members of the Prairie Garden Club Thursday morning.

A group of Hays Middle School students are trying to save the world one tomato plant at a time.

Two years ago, a group of science students were learning about climate change. The students decided they wanted to do more to make the world a greener place, so the Hays Middle School Garden Club was born.

“We learned that little things affect a lot of people,” Isis Norris, eighth grader, said. “We get to talk to people at the farmer’s market about our project.”

A group of about 40 meets Tuesday mornings during the school year, but a smaller core group remains active during the summer, working on a small plot on the middle school grounds.

A group of adults from the Prairie Garden Club in Hays joined the students for a tour Thursday morning.

This year some of the produce the group is growing includes watermelon, carrots, tomatoes and snap peas.

The group is growing organically, using a variety of soil mixes, including those supplemented with compost and manure.

Faith Fondoble, HMS eighth grader, talks about the HMS Garden Club’s compost bin Thursday morning.

The group constructed its own compost bin on site and is already reaping some compost material from the bin. Faith Fondoble, eighth grader, said she spent hours researching composting practices before the group put in its bin.

The group also has an indoor garden tower. Students place seeds in nutrient-rich clay disks, and the tower is supported through hydroponics. Artificial light keeps the plants, such as chard and basil, growing year round.

Any produce the group grows either goes home with the students or is offered at the Downtown Hays Market through free-will donation. Any donations go back to supporting the Garden Club program.

The club has not been to the market this summer yet because of a lack of volume in its produce. However, if it has more items later in the season, it will try to be at the market, club adviser and HMS science and math teacher Margaret Meier said.

The HMS Garden Club has an indoor plant tower it uses to grow plants, such as chard and basil, using hydroponics.

The group is working to raise money for a garden shed and hopes to use the shed as a collecting point for a rain barrel.

Meier said the garden is completely student driven. The students pick what plants they are going to grow and what goals they wish to set.

“I am trying to empower them and show them they can bring about change,” Meier said. “Even though they are 11 though 13 or 14, they can be a part of something great. They can be a part of the community.”

Check out the group’s Facebook page by clicking here.