On October 22, before a unanimous vote to merge Walker Upper Elementary and Buford Middle, the Charlottesville School Board sipped hibiscus lemonade and snacked on bruschetta. Ingredients for the meal were nurtured by the students who tend the City Schoolyard Garden at Buford, launched last year.
Next year, the board may have more to munch on. Today, the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (CACF) named the City Schoolyard Garden recipient of a $25,000 Prana award. The grant, according to a press release from CACF, will help expand the school’s "outdoor organic garden classroom."
"In addition to teaching the benefits of growing one’s own food, the garden provides an opportunity for classroom-to-garden instruction for ESL, English, Math, Science and Art classes," says the release.
The Prana Fund was established by Tom and Karyn Dingledine, who also created an endowed scholarship at James Madison University and an art scholarship at Wake Forest University.
