Green Teacher Network wants you, even if Nov. 1 event is full

Darlene Petranick of the NC Farm Bureau offers an egg lesson

The River District’s fledgling Green Teacher Network is taking off! We have had so much interest in our second quarterly workshop on Nov. 1 that we have closed registration for the event!
If you had hoped to come but haven’t registered, don’t despair! Just go to our website and SIGN UP for the Green Teacher Network newsletter. We will let you know about Network programs including our next session in February.
What generated all the interest? The network has answered into an unmet need – an easy way for volunteers and teachers at scores of  schoolyard gardens to get information and help.
Our own experience launching schoolyard gardens in the Catawba River District showed us that while our teachers and garden volunteers are uniformly enthusiastic about helping kids learn through gardens, they have a broad range of gardening knowledge.
Plus many people want to share what they’ve learned and get help from veterans when they encounter problems.

Team effort to create network

The River District worked with several partners to launch the Green Teacher network in August:  the Mecklenburg County Health Department, Gaston County Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council, Friendship Gardens and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated.

Our team agreed that the Network would establish and facilitate a collaboration of educators throughout the Charlotte region who meet quarterly to share information, network and collaborate to enhance hands-on learning, supporting local foods, and expanding current health and wellness initiatives through school-based gardening.

We also decided that the network would be open to all teachers from public, private, charter and home schools are invited to participate. In addition, all educators directly involved in the local food and growing economy are invited to participate.

The launch in August

Working with local garden and health experts, we launched the Green Teacher Network as students returned to school in August. Our first session provided general information about the River District, details about our Ultimate Schoolyard Garden project (CLICK to learn about it) and a 30-minute hands-on lesson on teaching science and math with eggs (We even brought the chickens!). The day ended with informal conversations over lunch and a tour of the host school’s extensive gardens.

Nov. 1 program

We expect about 80 people to attend our free Nov. 1 program at CPCC’s Harris Campus near Billy Graham Parkway. The Mecklenburg County Health Department is doing much of the organizational work for the event and providing the free lunch.
The main topic is “Gardening 101,” on how to launch a successful schoolyard garden. Several of the people who have signed up to attend have extensive gardening experience themselves. Participants will have time to network over lunch, meet a composting expert from Mecklenburg County and tour the CPCC’s own gardens.
And people who can’t come? We plan to videotape the main presentation and make that available to watch online for free.

Join the Network – Get our newsletter

If you want to learn more about the Green Teacher Network, the simplest way is to sign up for our newsletter. We will have details later this fall on plans for the next network event in February, plus links to the video and other information. CLICK to register.
If you have specific questions, you may also contact our executive director, Edna Chirico, at echirico@catawbariverdistrict.org.