Parker Seed Library Takes Root

As a component of their studies related to climate change and renewable energy, 6th grade students recently potted more than 100 basil and tomato seedlings as part of establishing the school’s first perpetual seed library.

STEAM and Coding teacher Sylvia Glassco teamed up with Library Assistant Shelby Rainford on this initiative, which enabled this pair of green-thumbed educators to plant all the original seeds the students would use. Using the ILIS Department’s hydroponic garden, Glassco and Rainford experimented with trays made from egg cartons to help the heirloom plants grow quickly, monitoring and caring for the fragile plants until they became more robust.

Once their seedlings sprouted and were viable, the teachers moved them outside to the balcony of the Kovler Family Library, which provided an idyllic outdoor classroom for the students’ potting experience and the plants’ continued growth. During several days, the teachers invited groups of 6th grade students outside and led them through the delicate process of repotting small basil and tomato seedlings from egg cartons to larger biodegradable pots. Glassco and Rainford then positioned the pots on the balcony to receive optimal sunlight and harden them off to the elements. Students Sam Goldblatt, Daniel Parasca and Dev Weiss are helping Glassco and Rainford water and care for the seedlings as part of their Action Project for the climate change unit.

Glassco and Rainford have a plan for this growing garden. Yes, the greenery is beautiful and eventually delicious, but the teachers want to show students the cyclical power of a single plant to sustain, nourish and propagate. To achieve this goal, students Cormack Friedlander, Aragon Goldman and Gavin Maness are working together on their Action Project to help Glassco and Rainford distribute plants and seedlings to 5th and 6th grade students to take home at the end of the year. Participating students will care for their plants until they reach maturity, harvesting and preserving the seeds each plant yields during the Summer Recess. If the students bring those seeds back to school in the fall, they can offer the seeds to members of the community as part of a seed library within the Kovler Family Library!

Describing the ways this experience ties in with student learning in class, Glassco said, “This project helps students build connections with the natural world and the plants we rely on for food. Students are nurturing plant growth and reproduction and sharing this interest by distributing seedlings to their peers. It also helps them develop an ethos around seeds as a common resource of humanity.”

Rainford expressed her enthusiasm for the project: “It’s great to see students excited about plants and gardening as they cultivate life-sustaining skills and knowledge.”