The Nettie Lousie Coit Teaching Garden is a large organic garden situated on campus. As the name suggests, the primary purpose of this garden is to educate students and community members about sustainable agricultural practices such as crop rotation, cover cropping, no-till farming, and planting flowers to attract pollinators. The Nettie Coit garden allows students in various classes and clubs to supplement their classroom learning with real-world experiences that are based on the principles learned in class. The garden produces a wide variety of produce: asparagus, potatoes, raspberries, grapes, apples, peppers, and squash represent just part of the harvest. Some of this food is used by classes and clubs* that are interested in studying agriculture and the natural world more generally. These, however, are far from the only groups to benefit from the garden. For example, 9th grade history classes visit the garden every fall – as part of their hunter-gatherer unit, they harvest and compare amaranth, a wild relative of corn, to the domesticated plant. Any food not used by classes and clubs is used in the school kitchen. The garden is maintained by a group of parent volunteers, the US and MS Garden Clubs, and the DIG classes.

Green Curriculum