As with a whole lot of things, the lessons of Living Green are best learned when started early on. Several years ago Parkview Elementary teacher Beverly Hall started a butterfly garden at the Cookeville school’s playground—not only to beautify the area but as a learning tool. From this sprang the idea of enlarging the garden to include vegetables.
With the help of the local Master Gardeners, Beverly went to work on the educational component of her garden and what she developed was, “Seedlings,” a collaboration of elementary school-aged children who are interested in gardening and in its impact on the world around them.
We think it’s great news that several Tennessee Prisons are choosing to Go Green, and Live Green Tennessee recently visited Sergeant Doug Griffith of the Tennessee Department of Corrections. Griffith explained a recycling program that turns leftover food from five prisons into rich, fertile mulch that’s then used on a 100-acre kitchen garden. The inmates working the farm save the prison system—and you, the taxpayer—money... But more important is the responsibility, the fresh air, and the opportunity to learn practical, employable and life-long skills to help trustees adjust to life upon release.