New Eagle Elementary School Receives Statewide Honor for Community Giving Garden
(Office of State Senator Carolyn Comitta ) New Eagle Elementary School and its students were recently honored with the Community Pride Award by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful for its “Giving Garden,” which educates students about gardening while helping combat food insecurity.
The school received the award after being nominated by State Senator Carolyn Comitta, who also honored the school with a special Senate Citation in honor of the garden’s 10 year anniversary and met with students, who as first-graders, helped launch the program.
“School gardens serve as an excellent learning experience for our students,” said Comitta, a former public school teacher who currently serves on the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and Senate Education Committee. “They help teach our children the joys of gardening and horticulture, they provide a unique way to teach the values of teamwork and patience, and they can help benefit the community with donations to local food pantries. New Eagle Elementary’s Giving Garden is an amazing example of community, and I am glad to see them recognized for their work.”
The Giving Garden features five raised garden beds to represent the five grades at New Eagle Elementary School in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District. The students prepare the beds, plant the seeds, and harvest the produce with help from parent volunteers.
“We want our school to be a place where students learn, and practice, the many ways they can be positive contributors to the world around them,” said New Eagle Elementary Principal Dr. Andrew Phillips. “The PTO provides hands-on experiences and volunteer opportunities that extend the walls of our classrooms. Our garden’s harvests benefit our local Chester County Food Bank on an ongoing basis. The Giving Garden is an exemplar of how families and schools can partner together to provide students with authentic learning experiences and essential skills for making their communities better.”
