Slow Food Iowa’s “From the Ground, UP!” school garden project breaks ground at Tate High School

Four years of planning coming to fruition as volunteers build raised beds with materials donated by Chadek, Lowe’s, others.

(Right: Slow Food Iowa member Art Nowak constructs 1 of the 12 raised beds at Tate High School)

Iowa City, 1 August 2005: Twelve community volunteers spent part of the past weekend building twelve raised beds for a 4500 square foot organic garden at the new Elizabeth Tate Senior High School on Mall Drive in Iowa City.  The project, part of Slow Food Iowa’s “From the Ground, UP!” school garden initiative, is aimed at teaching the benefits of gardening and sustainability to students, while integrating fully with their established curriculum.

“This is a marvelous opportunity,” said Chef Kurt Michael Friese, Director of the project and owner of Devotay, a restaurant in downtown Iowa City.  “It really brings the community together around a common goal – that of broadening our kids horizons.”

Volunteers from all walks of life have been helping plan the garden for more than 4 years.  It began as little more than a pipe dream, said Friese, but the passage of the school bond referendum that mandated the building of three new schools was the real catalyst.  “I began talking with Dr. Plugge and lobbying the school board,” Friese said, “and eventually I talked my way onto the advisory committee that was helping to design what became the Elizabeth Tate Senior High School.”  There, with the support of school Principal Stephanie Phillips, as well as faculty members such as Mark Jensen, Ben Mosher, and Hani Alkadi, the idea took root to build the school with a garden literally from the ground, up – thus the name.

On July 30^th, Slow Food members, local chefs, and interested community members met at the school to build frames for the raised beds from cedar lumber donated by Lowe’s of Coralville.  The following day, Wes Rich of the School District’s physical plant contributed his Sunday afternoon and new tractor to move the garden soil donated by Carl Chadek Trucking Service.

Slow Food Iowa’s funding for the project comes mainly from the annual Field to Family local foods festival, which will return this year from September 8^th through the 11^th.  “Our other fundraising activities have contributed as well, but ‘F2F’ is the main source.  The community has been a tremendous help as we get this project rolling.”

This fall, Tom Wahl of Red Fern Farm in Wapello will donate fruit and nut bearing trees for a 6000 square foot orchard on the school grounds.  Most of the trees will be indigenous to Iowa.  The seeds for the project come from Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, a purveyor and protector of thousands of heirloom seed varieties.  “That is what Slow Food is about,” Friese said, “protecting endangered food and food traditions.  We connect food and pleasure with awareness and responsibility.”

Long-range goals of the garden include integration with the lunches at the school and “one day,” according to Chef Friese, “a full culinary vocational program at the school.”  Community support, he said, is the key.  The driving force behind the success of the project is the crew of dedicated volunteers.  If you would like to be a part of this important project, contact Slow Food Iowa now!