Pond Gap Elementary School

Description

In partnership with the University-Assisted Community School (UACS) at Pond Gap Elementary School, the Pellissippi State Community College Service-Learning program has created the 2,500 square foot Pond Gap Ele-mentary School Community Garden, and programming, in order to pro-duce food for the school cafeteria. Students at the school learn and help in the garden on a regular basis during recess and after school. The Family Garden WorkShare program provides families with gardening skill devel-opment and a box of produce per week in exchange for help in the garden. College students and community members help as well, with over 100 vol-unteers converting grass to fertile land and maintaining the garden space.
This Service-Learning opportunity exists in order to expose students at a young age to the nutritional and economic benefits of growing food for oneself and others. The Service-Learning program intends to create a K-14 pipeline in urban agriculture, providing agriculture education inside the curriculum alongside hands-on experience. We hope to produce the urban farmers of Knoxville and beyond.
Should you have an interest in working with children, studying agricul-ture (specifically with an urban focus), or just getting your hands in the dirt, we invite you to get involved!