Nicholas Richer
The State News
Nicholas Richer
The State News
While some elementary school students have no input on their day-to-day activities, students at Riddle Elementary, 2221 Huron St. in Lansing, are speaking up.
Throughout March, students worked to create a mural depicting the vegetable garden they cultivate during the summertime. The 20-by-8-foot mural is composed of several panels showing children in the garden and the vegetables they grow.
The mural was designed by Erika Magars, a 2002 MSU graduate. She used pictures drawn by the students and photographs of children in the garden, which she projected onto the mural. Magars deliberately included students of many nationalities in the mural, as Riddle Elementary has students from 19 countries and has the district's English Language Learners Program.
"The garden project is something I feel really strongly about," Magars said.
Materials for the project were donated by Renick Stevenson, one of Magars' former mentors. Stevenson moved to Colorado and left Magars paint and materials to use for a large service project. Magars estimated Stevenson donated approximately $3,000 in materials.
Katie Olender, the project coordinator, said it is important to keep students involved in interactive projects like the garden, as well as the mural. There are about 10 classes that work on the garden in the summer, and seven worked on the mural.
"In lower-income schools, arts are usually the first thing cut," Olender said, adding that the mural is a way to work around budget cuts.
Timbre Benson-Martin, a second-grader at Riddle Elementary, worked on the mural.
"I think it's cool because you get to paint," Benson-Martin said. "I like doing other things, but not more than painting."
The school received a $1,000 donation from the Lansing Board of Water and Light to help with the project.
Volunteers also are working to receive grants for the garden project in the summer. English senior Chelsea McMellen, a second-year volunteer at the school, wrote the grant proposal to help get a stipend for volunteer workers, she said. She also is working to raise funds to publish a cookbook containing recipes written by students.
Students are involved in every step of the garden, Olender said. The students pick what crops to grow, as well as grow, plant, pick and then cook them.
"We're trying to teach them to eat locally and eat healthy," McMellen said. "I think this is a really important project for the kids, especially for kids who don't have access to a lot of fruits and vegetables."