earth oven

Greetings! Today is World Food Day, and to honor it, WSB’s Student Council will be hosting a food drive. The drive’s dates are still to be determined — but it will be happening soon. So get ready to clear out those pantries of all the extra canned goods that have been lingering. This morning the 8th grade and I had a lively conversation about food miles. We calculated that the ingredients of a typical bowl of cereal may have traveled over 5000 miles to get onto a kitchen table in Baltimore, MD. We discussed shopping at farmers’ markets vs supermarkets, the importance our local economy, and making informed decisions about the food we eat.

Today at lunch I had some eager 2nd grade students help me roll up the hoses as we start to prepare the garden for the long cold ahead. We’re hoping to do some winter gardening this year, so we’ll be making a some cold frames over the next couple of weeks. We’ll also be edging out the garden and putting down more mulch soon. Plus, we have hopes of firing up the old earth oven before winter hits! More on that soon.

Another exciting development is the new Fairy Garden in the Children’s Garden outdoor area. Working together last Sunday were CG teachers, Mrs. Bechmann & Ms. Landgraf, and parents, Yevgeniy Elbert (Asta), and Roland & Naoko Oehme (Yuma). The new Fairy Garden spawned from a collaboration with Mrs. Bechmann and Roland Oehme of Green Harmony Design. On behalf of the WSB community, the Children’s Garden would like to thank Roland for providing the garden plans, some plants, and lots of hard work; and to Yevgeniy for his gift of hard work, mulch, and tools. Below are some photos of the install — be sure to stop by sometime and check it out. Who knows what creatures will take up residence there come Spring?!

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Over the last couple of weeks WSB’s 3rd grade class has been helping me renovate our earth oven. The goal is to have it finished up, decorated, and fired up, within the month of October. The oven was originally made with too much sand, so it has been crumbling away over the years. Adding some clay to the mix should do the trick to sure it up. Below are photos of the 3rd grade cleaning up the oven and collecting the sand that has slowly eroded from it. They are piling it up and sifting out any large rocks and sticks that have made their way into it. Soon we’ll be adding clay and re-coating the outer layer.
WSB will also be hosting a Fathers’ Work Day in the near future to help take down the wooden frame surrounding the oven. The wood will be re-used in a new design that will incorporate a living roof and straw bale walls. Details to come — photos for now. . . .