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We broke ground on our 19th garden at Mt Solo Middle School!

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Generous support from families and businesses have made this day possible: Every elementary and middle school in Longview now has a garden (and we’ll soon be able to say the same of Kelso). Special thanks to Jammie’s Environmental, Inc. and Watkins Tractor & Supply Co. for donating big equipment and skilled operators on Wednesday, and to JH Kelly who will build the shed and some other infrastructure.

Thanks to all who support the work of Lower Columbia School Gardens

More info in The Daily News or on our Facebook page.

 

$250k Kaiser grant expands School Gardens for Longview and Kelso

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 1, 2015

Kaiser Permanente Northwest Awards Grant to Cowlitz County Health Department
Cowlitz County Health Department’s (CCHD) Office of Healthy Communities received $250,000 over
the next three years to partner with Lower Columbia School Gardens and the Longview and Kelso
School Districts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption for school-age children. This collaborative
project will expand access to school garden activities and curricula for children and their families.

This grant will allow Lower Columbia School Gardens to expand their capacity to serve more children in
our county through their 14 school-based gardens, and to integrate their programs and activities more
fully into the school environment. Longview and Kelso School Districts will be able to fully utilize school
gardens as an educational and community resource.

“We are grateful to Kaiser Permanente for this opportunity to engage even more kids in our school
gardens. We know that school gardens work; kids are more likely to eat and enjoy fruit and vegetables
they grow themselves, and they get excited about healthy cooking and eating as they learn about
where real food comes from and how it’s grown. We see that reality in our work every day, and this
new partnership will allow us to share that experience with more children, teachers and families in our
community,” says Ian Thompson, Executive Director of Lower Columbia School Gardens.

Kaiser Permanente Northwest is dedicated to improving the health of individuals and the communities
they serve. Specifically, their work is focused on connecting low-income people to health care,
educating children and families about healthy eating and active living, creating and sharing
groundbreaking research, strengthening health safety nets in communities, and supporting their employees’ community engagement.

CCHD provides broad-spectrum public health services to Cowlitz County residents aimed at improving
and protecting the health and well-being of individuals of all ages. To contact the Health Department,
please call 360-414-5599.

CCHD Official Press Release

LCSG and The Xerces Society – collaborating to protect pollinators

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lcsg-xerces2One of our AmeriCorps Members, Hillary Jensen, recently had the opportunity to visit the Xerces Society in Portland, OR along with LCSG Board President – Louis LaPierre, and Friend of LCSG, Author and Naturalist – Robert Pyle.

Xerces generously donated Pollinator Habitat signs for installation in each of our School Gardens – which will help us teach about and protect VIPs (very important pollinators) in our own community.

Thank you for the signs and for all the valuable work you do for invertebrates, Xerces Society.
Learn more about the birth and work of Xerces here: http://www.xerces.org/story/

lcsg-xerces

“Feeding Washington Tour” features School Gardens

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A revealing video featuring some terrific agencies (school gardens start at minute 6). This was part of a “Feeding Washington Tour” by 19th District Representatives Brian Blake and Dean Takko on August 15th.

As always, the real credit goes to the hundreds upon hundreds of students, families, teachers, businesses, service organizations and charity groups that have created all this with their hard work and generous donations.