Ennis School Gardens Growing More Than Vegetables

An active partnership in Ennis, Mont., has been working for several years to increase the availability of local food and educate the community about gardening and natural resources. In 2015, the Madison Conservation District and Madison Farm to Fork teamed up to create the GROWW (Gardens, Resources, Outdoors, Wildlife, and Watersheds) program with the goal of long-term school outreach featuring hands-on experiences.

This successful partnership had already been working with Ennis schools to maintain a school garden that serves as outdoor classroom space for gardening, nutrition, agriculture, science, Native American studies, and service learning. In 2019, they were able to build on that foundation to complete the campus greenhouse and add a pollinator garden, thanks to a grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and community support.

Campus Greenhouse

The Madison Conservation District worked with the Ennis School District and Madison Farm to Fork to design the campus greenhouse. The NRCS grant funds enabled volunteers and students to install raised beds and greenhouse flooring. Grant funds also helped to purchase seedling heat mats to give the students experience in starting seeds, soil monitoring devices to educate students on how to test soil moisture and acidity levels, and seeds for the 2020 growing season. A custom designed drip irrigation system will be installed in spring 2020 after the danger of frost has passed. This system will help maximize plant growth as well as water savings. Ennis School students planted a cold season crop in late August in the greenhouse and are currently monitoring the plant growth and maintenance.

The Ennis School District’s Family and Consumer Science class will be utilizing the greenhouse to grow their own produce to be used in cooking classes and served in the school cafeteria. Students will learn all aspects of growing and producing their own food in a greenhouse.

Pollinator Garden

The Madison Conservation District worked with school administrators, community volunteers, non-profit partners, and Conservation District supervisors to design and plan the pollinator garden at the Ennis School. NRCS grant funds and community support also helped the District to procure plants, signage, topsoil, mason bee homes, tools, and a garden cart.

Volunteers helped the Madison Conservation district to prepare the pollinator garden beds and install the native nursery plants. More than 10 volunteers gathered on two occasions to remove 300 sq. ft. of sod and non-native plants to prepare the pollinator garden site prior to planting, lay stone pavers and complete the planting. In all, 85 containerized plants comprising 35 pollinator-friendly species were installed. Mulch will be used on the garden after the first frost to ensure plant survival through the winter.

Additional fencing was installed to protect the garden from deer and pests. An existing underground sprinkler system irrigates the garden. The Madison Conservation District designed and placed signs throughout the garden educating visitors and students on plant identification, important plant details, and noting if the plant is native to Montana. An informational sign also identifies the garden as specifically designed for pollinator habitat and the partners involved in the project. A pollinator educational curriculum was purchased to go hand-in-hand with the experience of working in the pollinator garden; giving students varied means of learning about pollinators and their role in our food and other natural systems. This curriculum will be valid into the future.