For the past eight years, the YAA has supported a job at the Yarmouth School Garden, which is located behind the Yarmouth Elementary School.  YES teachers use the garden for instructional purposes, and some of the produce is used in the lunch programs at the four schools. 
 
The YAA solicits applications for the job from YHS sophomores and juniors.  The successful applicant, selected by the garden manager and Ben Soule, work for 50 hours each summer for a $500.00 stipend.  We have had great success with this program, fulfilling our mission of assisting students and the Yarmouth schools in general.  Below is s piece written by Miranda Clarke ’18, who held the job this summer.    She wrote the article for The Clippings, the YHS online newspaper.
 
Yarmouth School District Garden: A Different Kind of Classroom
by Miranda Clarke
 

Staring down at my blistered hands under the summer sun, I wonder what I had gotten myself into. I was tired and not used to the work I was doing, but I was determined to mulch the

blueberry patch so it would grow stronger in the following years. After three days of work, I was finished and moved on to the next task: weeding.

I had gotten a job at the Yarmouth School District Garden last Spring. Yes, there is indeed a district garden behind the Yarmouth Elementary School. Over the entire summer, I spent many days mulching, deadheading flowers, and dragging soil from one end of the garden to the other. I wasn’t the only person new to the garden. The district hired a new Yarmouth School District Garden Coordinator K-12, Amy Haskell. Talking with her was informative, and I learned many things about nature and gardening that I didn’t know before. Here is an intriguing aspect of gardening I learned from her.Mulching: the most important thing that I had never heard anything about (most likely because I’m fairly new to gardening). “The idea behind mulching is to keep unwanted plants from growing and help retain moisture in the soil. Anything can be used as long as it allows water through but also blocks light. It also should be organic. In our garden we have used seaweed, cardboard, newspaper, grass clippings from fertilizer-free lawns, corn husks, shredded paper, dryer lint, shells, straw, and garden fabric. You also mulch to help put nutrients back into the soil. Blueberries are acid loving plants so pine needles are good to use.” Personally, my favorite on the list was seaweed. It’s free, decorative, and serves its purpose.


Nature is one of the main reasons that I was fond of working outside. When I was younger, I was outside the majority of the time. As I grew older, and more responsibilities fell onto my shoulders, I began to spend less time outside on my own accord. I realized how incredible it is to watch plants grow because of all the work you did. It is a thing that humans have done for thousands of years, and I got to experience some of that.

If you’re interested in volunteering at the garden, a project Amy Haskell is very passionate about, feel free to contact her at amy_haskell@yarmouthschools.org. The primary goal of the garden is to have people of all ages enjoy it, so feel free to walk by and see the work that is still in process!