Tracy City Elementary Hosts High Tunnel Raising for School Garden

TRACY CITY, Tenn. -- Community members are invited to Tracy City Elementary on Saturday, June 29 at 8 a.m. to noon to help raise a high tunnel greenhouse for the school’s new educational garden.

“We’re excited to be starting another school garden in Grundy County,” said Erin Lee, an Americorps VISTA serving as Network Coordinator for the plateau’s Cumberland Teaching Gardens, “and we’re eager to make this an educational opportunity for the community.”

Lee is seeking around 20 adult volunteers to help construct the high tunnel. Carolyn Hoagland, the University of the South’s farm manager, will lead the project and educate volunteers so that they can obtain skills and knowledge to construct their own high tunnel.

“High tunnels come in all sizes,” said Hoagland, “They can be a great season-extending addition to a backyard garden.”

The high tunnel will allow teachers and students to use the garden for more of the school year than the cool and wet weather would otherwise allow.

Alexis Pritchett, second-grade teacher at Tracy City Elementary and manager of the new garden, approached the Cumberland Teaching Gardens network this winter about the project. Most school gardens in the area are currently run as after-school clubs, but Pritchett is passionate about having it used in classes to supplement curriculum starting in August.

“My goal is to help teachers like Pritchett bring visions of school gardens to life,” said Lee, “and to create a network of teachers, parents, and other community members that will continue to support these gardens for years to come.”

The event is hosted in partnership with AmeriCorps VISTA, the University of the South, and South Cumberland Plateau Community Fund.

Please sign up at http://signup.com/go/YPpZefr or contact Erin Lee at sewaneevistagarden@gmail.com for more information. Volunteers should wear closed-toed shoes or rubber boots and bring any food and snacks they may want.