A Garden Party at Ashley Elementary

 On Sunday, Sept. 23, Ashley IB Magnet School celebrated the improvements to the school’s garden area. During the past year, the school and PTA have refurbished the school’s greenhouse and added an outdoor garden and classroom area.


Grant funding, including major contributions from BB&T through their Lighthouse grants project and an equipment grant for the garden programming from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, along with in-kind donations and volunteer time from parents have allowed the school to add an outdoor classroom area that includes 9 raised beds, border plantings, a storage shed, child-sized gardening tools, and large patio area.

The party included a free concert by Big Bang Boom, a well-known local band that plays regularly at children’s museums in Winston-Salem and Greensboro. “We are so thrilled to have them as our inaugural performance on the patio,” said Tamara McLaughlin, the PTA President at Ashley. “Hopefully, it will be the first of many such events designed to help expose all of our families at Ashley to the garden – even those who don’t currently like gardening.”

Students at Ashley will also be getting exposure to the garden regularly during the school day. Ashley will offer gardening as a part-time Specials Class this fall, with students in kindergarten through fifth grade gardening on a 12-day rotation. “We are excited that all of our students will have the opportunity to learn in the garden and greenhouse this year,” said Principal Robert Ash. “It’s a natural fit for our International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum which emphasizes inquiry and exploration based learning.”