Bay Park Elementary

Bay Park's Award Winning Garden

 Bay Park Gardens

by

Diane Bailey

 The dream of a garden at Bay Park began about nine years ago when our school counselor wanted a place to bring children where they could work with the earth, see nature bloom and talk in a quiet outdoor environment. So she laid the groundwork for the garden that exists at the school today. Today's garden consists of individual classroom plots and barrels. Each class has their own space for growing. Our parent coordinator supervises the growing partners and oversees the worm bin (using lunch scraps) used to support the garden. And with the help of their growing partner (a volunteer parent or community member) and their teacher, the students develop a theme, plant seeds or young plants, learn about it, care for it and enjoy watching their garden grow. And as their garden blooms young minds grow in their knowledge of plants and of their environment.

Come see our beautiful Birds, Books, and Butterflies Garden.

   Now our dream has expanded. When a classroom bungalow was removed the school was left with a plot of dirt lying empty and full of weeds. So now for our dream: Why not make this area a quiet learning environment for children! The plan is for an area where students can read and work outside among the blooms, butterflies and birds. This garden will be planted with native and Mediterranean plants. There will be tables and benches, birdhouses and plants for butterflies and birds. This dream garden has been named the garden of Birds,  Books, and Butterflies.

The dream has now come true.

The dream has expanded with murals

      The murals were designed from Bay Park student art work.  They were asked to draw what they thought their Native Garden should look like.  Then our artist-in-residence put them all together to create the beautiful backdrops with the help of students and parents.  Next we are looking forward to purchasing tables and benches.   

     A special thank you to Kiwanis and our grant writers.  Thanks to them our gardens are more beautiful than we ever imagined

Worm Wednesdays

   One of the many different ways we recycle at Bay Park is through our Worm bin provided by Solana Beach recycling.  Students collect fruit and vegetable scrapes once a week to feed our worms.  The worms make compost which we use in our gardens.  Last year we recycled 256 pounds of food.

Our Schools as Jewels ---  Three Gardens Grow at Bay Park Elementary School Bay Park Elementary School students are more fortunate than they may even realize. They don’t have just one garden or even two gardens, they have three. Retired Bay Park Principal Diane Bailey comes back every Wednesday to teach students about plants and the role they play in our ecosystem, our communities and our world. The gardens provide students with learning opportunities in horticulture, social studies, science, and math. “The native garden was designed to provide a learning and reflective experience,” Bailey said. “Students can also come here to read quietly.” Bailey incorporates social studies, science, math and mapping skills into her lessons. When third-graders studied local communities in social studies, she taught them about the plants associated with local Kumeyaay Indians, and the prominent local horticulturalist Kate Sessions. When second-graders were studying the Mediterranean climate, Bailey incorporated longitude, latitude, maps and climate into her gardening classes. “We’re also creating our own ecosystem by attracting birds and butterflies with the plants and birdhouses that have been placed around the garden,” Bailey said. “The birdhouses were painted by kindergartners.” Large rocks are strategically placed around the garden to attract students and give them a place to sit. Soon the garden will have stone tables and benches, thanks to a garden grant. Grants, donations and volunteers have made the Bay Park gardens a reality for the students. Diane Bailey, former principal, helps some fifth-grade students weed the native garden at Bay Park Elementary School. The murals on the buildings adjacent to the garden were designed by students and painted by parent volunteers.

PLEASE COME SEE OUR AWARD WINNING GARDEN

AND BEAUTIFUL MURALS

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