NNM Farmessori (our urban garden on Wood Street) provides students with a place to have an authentic experience of working the land, growing produce, understanding the food cycle and learning botany in a hands-on way. The Farmessori fits in perfectly with our school’s social justice and sustainability curriculum. Lessons on the Farmessori go beyond basic botany and lead to engaging conversations about topics such as sustainability, care of the earth, equal access to good nutrition and food deserts in Chicago.
Students raise plants, including a wide variety of vegetables and flowers, in the grow labs located throughout the school. When spring comes, they transplant them into the Farmessori garden. This authentic experience runs parallel to classroom lessons, including plant classification, parts of a flower, the water cycle, ecology, types of roots and parts of a seed.
Junior high connects the Farmessori directly to the Sandwich Shop by harvesting produce to use in making meals for students and staff. For example, basil and tomatoes are turned into pasta sauce. Peas, beans, lettuce, squash and peppers are all used in different recipes and sold through the Sandwich Shop. Junior high students sell farm fresh produce to the NNM community at a market stand in the fall.
The Farmessori also operates as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). In return for volunteering time in the garden watering, weeding and harvesting, NNM families receive all the produce they can carry home. The zucchini, eggplant, beets, carrots, chives and other produce come full circle by ending up on the tables of the children who planted them.
If you would like to to volunteer in the Farmessori, please contact the Farmessori Coordinator, Stacy Cushenbery at scushenbery@nnms.org or 773.269.6271.