On a brisk October morning, the students of Moriah’s K-3 kindergarten class left their classroom for a hands-on lesson about growing tasty herbs and beautiful flowers in the new Early Childhood garden. They gathered around Early Childhood Director Divsha Tollinsky, who explained why they were going to dig up the herbs that had been planted over the summer to bring indoors (plants can’t wear jackets like they do), and plant bulbs that would bloom in the spring. Each early childhood class has a different job in caring for the garden. Morahs Pam Schlisser, Sharon Frankel, and Frumie Croog helped the students remove the parsley, basil, and thyme and settle the tulip and daffodil bulbs snuggly under the dirt. The plan is to add vegetables including tomatoes, cucumbers, and root vegetables in the spring.
The Early Childhood garden began over the summer with funding from an anonymous donor in memory of the three boys killed in Israel. “The goal is to help the students understand the science behind the plant food we eat, how plants grow, and also to connect to the Torah,” Tollinsky said. “The focus of our gardening project is on Maaseh Breisheit…exploration, discovery, a love of the Earth and what Hashem provides for us. Within that focus, our discovery will include Brachot (blessings), Shmittah (the Sabbatical year), Bikkurim (first fruits), and more.”
The garden was planned and designed with assistance from Yosef Gillers, a RIETS Smicha student with a BA in Environmental Studies. He advised Tollinsky on the types of plants that do best with a short fall growing season and about how to manage the soil. Gillers, whose wife Sara Schnaidman is a 2005 Moriah graduate, works with the Amir Project, an organization that develops garden-based Jewish environmental programs at summer camps, schools, and community centers, and helped write their programming guide. Gillers built the garden at Moshava Ba’ir, the summer day camp located at the Frisch School, where he learned about Moriah’s interest in starting a garden and began consulting with them.
Gillers said that gardening gives kids an appreciation for nature that they simply cannot get in the classroom. “Brachos will mean more now that they see where their food comes from. It’s a really substantive, meaningful way to connect to Hakodesh Baruch Hu,” he said. “Growing vegetables is easier than we think,” he added. “Everyone should try it.”
By Bracha Schwartz
