CV Class Plants Trees and Gardens
When JoDee Haffner’s third graders at Chabot Elementary School returned to the classroom post-COVID last year, she noticed that many were still a bit stressed from the experience.
“We found that going out to the school garden to read really helped calm them down,” she says.
Unfortunately, the garden had been neglected while the school was closed, so Mrs. Haffner looked around for help to put it back in better working order.
She found that the Eden Garden Club offered grants to schools in Castro Valley in Hayward and made contact with Peggy Maurer from that group. This school year, Maurer organized special speakers for Haffner's current class in addition to helping prep and plant the garden in person.
“Ms. Maurer brought in Sung Lee, a beekeeper who told us how bees pollinate plants. She also introduced Ms. Dixon, who taught us about Monarch butterflies, and Amos White from an organization called 100K Trees for Humanity,” says Haffner. “The grant from Eden Garden Club helped us build up our pollinator garden. We planted a butterfly garden, herb garden, and succulents.”
Working with the 100K Trees for Humanity project and Eden Garden Club, the class also planted acorns in January 2023 in hopes of growing and adding trees to our area.
“We get to take care of the trees for a year, maybe two years,” says Haffner. “That’s our job, and then they’ll help us plant them in the community. The acorns came from specific areas, like Cull Canyon and Montgomery Street, which are labeled on each student’s containers.”
There were a few setbacks, such as the freezing weather earlier this year, which damaged some of the tiny trees. And during spring break, squirrels broke into the greenhouse and made off with some of the acorns. But the missing trees have been replanted, and the garden looks great.
“I looked around, and I saw hardly any weeds left. We did a good job,” said one student.
The students say they loved planting flowers, succulents, and acorns and finding interesting bugs as well. They have become so enthusiastic about gardening that they have branched out, now welcoming birds. Parent Dennis Hackbarth helped all the students build and paint birdhouses — and made a new protective container to keep squirrels away from the young trees.
Mrs. Haffner encourages other teachers in Castro Valley and Hayward Unified School Districts to check out the grants offered by Eden Garden Club.
See edengardenclub.com, or e-mail edengardenclub@yahoo.com. Contact 100K Trees for Humanity through Jennifer Koney, jkoney@comcast.net, or (510) 846-1325, or online at 100Ktrees4humanity.com. This group is made of community members and neighbors who hope to add 100,000 trees to urban areas. Their motto is, "Plant a tree, cool the planet."