Greetings to all. 

I want to share some updates about our TEA Forest Garden. 

Thanks to all the teachers and their classes who have taken the time to observe and enjoy how the plants in the garden are growing. Although we have a situation with the iguanas, Mr. Chad, Mr. Samuel, Mr. Jacquan, the second-grade team, parents, and I are looking for solutions to counteract the situation with the iguanas. 

Apparently, the iguanas have found a delicacy in the garden. Mr. Samuel, the garden installation coordinator, has visited the garden several times in the evenings and shared his observations with me. 

The plan is to replace the plants that have been eaten by the iguanas with those plants that the iguanas have not touched. In addition, some parents have suggested setting iguana traps, since I have been releasing iguanas that get stuck in the nets in the garden. 

I want to share that we already have the date (November 15th) for the next TEA Forest Garden lesson for the students. Second grade had a great time with Cindy Griffin learning about the different types of soil and ended up doing a hands-on project. For our November Food Forest Lesson, Ms. Griffin will be teaching 3rd and 2nd students.  The lesson is approximately 30 minutes and the topic for November is NUTRITION FROM PLANTS.

For the rest of the school, Adrian (TEA Forest Garden Coordinator) and I came up with the idea of a "Scavenger Hunt" in the Tea Forest Garden. Teachers are invited to print out the map of the TEA Forest Garden and the 2 forms that are attached. 

The classes are invited to visit the garden and complete the list and the map by matching the plants and the location of the plants with the names of the plants that are labeled in the garden. Once the scavenger hunt activity is completed, students will look up the origin of the plants to find out the country of origin, what the plants are used for, and the culture of the countries from which the plants originate. In addition, they must complete the plant description column using descriptive words.

The class that completes the scavenger hunt first will get a treat from Cindy. To find out which class is the winner, I ask the teachers to place the completed maps with the list in my mailbox.

Thank you for your support.