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Community Corner

'Sowing Seeds' Project Breaking Ground

MIDDLETOWN, CT -- A ceremony has been scheduled at Van Buren Moody Elementary School to mark the official launch of “Sowing Seeds,” a project to convert the school’s two courtyards into outdoor classrooms dedicated to environmental education.

The groundbreaking is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 11 a.m., at Moody Elementary School, 300 Country Club Road. It will be attended by Middletown Schools Supt. Patricia Charles as well as representatives of the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, the Rotary Club of Middletown, Middletown Garden Club, the regional Agricultural Science & Technology Center and Moody School PTA.

Work will begin immediately afterward, with volunteers removing trees, flowers, shrubs and mulch from both courtyards.

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In the following weeks, volunteers will add compost and topsoil to the planting beds and re-plant each courtyard according to a distinct theme. Moody’s west courtyard will be planted with native trees, shrubs and perennial wildflowers typically found in our region’s natural environment. In the east courtyard, new, raised beds will be planted with fruit trees, herbs, vegetables and annual flowers.

The ultimate aim of “Sowing Seeds” is to give students at Moody an enhanced, hands-on education in science, math, nutrition, farming and the natural environment.

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Work will be completed in the fall. The project’s total estimated cost is $5,000. The Community Foundation of Middlesex County’s $3,500 grant for the project will be supplemented by a $1,000 donation from Moody School PTA and $500 from The Rotary Club of Middletown.

The Community Foundation of Middlesex County, with offices in Middletown, is a nonprofit organization that works with individuals and organizations to build permanent endowments and other charitable funds. More information may be found at: http://middlesexcountycf.org

For more information about “Sowing Seeds,” contact Mike McCune at 860-346-6007 or mccune.mike@comcast.net. Or visit http://www.facebook.com/moodyschoolgardens

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