Halverson School Community Garden

This year we have a new addition to our gardens! The Halverson School Community Garden is an exciting new concept in community gardens that required extensive and unique partnerships.

This project involved the creation of a mixed use Community Garden at Halverson Elementary School. It is collaboration between Albert Lea School District 241, the City of Albert Lea, Freeborn County SHIP Program, the University of Minnesota Extension Service, the Junior Gardeners Association, AmeriCorps Volunteers and the Halverson School PTO. The School District contributed the land, the City of Albert Lea tilled the soil and provided two picnic tables for educational purposes, the SHIP Program paid for a water hook-up, the AmeriCorps volunteers and Junior Gardeners Association will plant and maintain the children’s portion of the garden, the Halverson PTO has provided support and promotion and The University of Minnesota 4-H Extension will be available all summer to provide the educational piece. The school-age summer programs at the Children’s Center, the Family “Y” and Halverson School are all booked to use the garden extensively this summer.

The purpose of this garden is to help children and families connect with the source of their food and to learn how their choices affect their own and their family’s health, and to provide an educational tool for educators in the area of nutrition and fresh foods. The Garden is meant to be an agricultural gathering place in a safe setting that promotes and enhances wellness and physical health.

Funding amount: $1,500

Another $800 added to the Halverson Garden for fencing and equipment. The garden will be totally used by the children of Freeborn County and it will double in size this summer. The 4-H Extension will still run the garden.