Name of awarded organization: Camden Elementary Parent – Teacher Organization

Name of organization contact person:   Christina Walker        

Community Garden Address: 4784 Hwy 43 North Camden, MS 39045

Establishing a garden at school provides students with hands-on learning opportunities about where food comes from, promote healthy eating habits by allowing them to grow their own produce, encourage outdoor activity, teach basic science concepts related to plants and ecosystems, and foster a sense of responsibility and connection to the community by actively participating in the growing process.

Planting the community garden has resulted in an increase in community support and awareness for the students and the needs of the school and of communities. It brought the community together to share ideas and partake in the organic vegetables produced. It also encouraged others in the community to grow a garden at home. The garden has provided produce to 150 plus community members. 

Partners that contributed to the success of the Camden learning center would include the Camden Elementary Building and Grounds staff who helped build and maintain the Garden through pruning and harvesting and the Camden Elementary PTO assisted by maintaining the garden with daily watering and pruning. Over 20 meetings were held to prepare and maintain the garden.

The staff utilized YouTube videos for a variety of gardening related training. YouTube videos were shared with gardeners to show proper ways of setting up a trellis for proper growth and different ways of pruning and harvesting vegetables. 

There were several in the community who expressed their appreciation for the garden funding and what it meant to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

• “The grant was very useful for our community. It brought our community together.”
• “The cherry tomatoes were so sweet, I can eat them straight from the vine.”  
• “This project came together nicely and is a great way to bring the community together for positive results.”

The garden activities are currently shared on the Camden Elementary PTO. The most current garden activity was held October 17,2024 – Harvest Fun Day.  

Students and their parents were able to spend time in the garden and take produce home afterwards. 

A lesson learned to share:  

Access to water at all times is crucial. There should always be a back-up plan. Spacing of the raised beds is very important for mobility in and out of the garden space.