To help Cahill students understand what it takes to grow and maintain a healthy garden, @ulsterboces Plant and Animal Science students from Elizabeth Baker’s class recently visited the school. This visit kicked off a new collaboration that will officially begin next school year. As part of their workplace learning skills, the BOCES students will return about once a month to share their knowledge with Cahill students.

Grade 3 students in Larissa O’Neill’s class will be the first to benefit from this partnership. During this last visit, students discussed topics like pollinators and soil types, then got hands-on with a soil exploration activity. There was a lot of excitement as students discovered spiders, centipedes, and even a few rolly polly bugs!

The visit wrapped up with a mulch experiment designed to explore how different materials affect soil temperature, weed growth, and plant success. Together, the students planted lettuce in four sections of a raised bed — one covered in wood shavings, one in wool, one with cardboard, and one left bare. Over time, they’ll observe how the lettuce grows in each section and learn what works best.

We’re looking forward to watching this partnership grow — just like the garden!