Overbrook School for the Blind

What Us Grow

At Overbrook School for the Blind, extracurricular activities—a key component to each student's Overbrook experience—include a variety of sports, exposure to the arts and now even sustainable agriculture.

In 2009, Overbrook School for the Blind staff designed and implemented a Farm to Table program. Through "Farm to Table", our students learn and connect with sustainable agriculture in a meaningful way. First, the Farm to Table yield stocks the student salad bar which promotes healthy eating and dietary habits on campus. Second, our Farm to Table program creates a holistic experience wherein students not only come to know where their food is grown, but they play an active part in the process, as well.

Grants and Praise

What started out as a series of raised beds has since grown to include an orchard, and has attracted national support with a National Football League's "Play 60" grant, and additional funding from Whole Foods' Whole Kids Foundation. In the region, our Farm to Table program has received plaudits from the Philadelphia Horticultural Society.

Farm to Table Development

To help our Farm to Table program take the next step in its development and to also dramatically increase the program's campus-wide impact, Overbrook School for the Blind is currently in the process of planning and building an on-campus greenhouse. Once complete the Overbrook School for the Blind Greenhouse will provide the Farm to Table program with:

A fully adaptive and accessible greenhouse;
A climate-controlled environment that will enable the Farm to Table program to grow crops, plants and flowers year-round; and,
An on-campus hub where older students in our High School and School to Work programs can gain real-life experience that may result in future employment opportunities.

Check back here for additional details as this exciting project comes to life. If you are interested in supporting the Overbrook School for the Blind Greenhouse, please contact our development office by calling 215-877-0313 ext. 264.

Farm to Table Feature

GROWABILITY honeybee lesson
AVAILABLE From philadelphia orchard project

POP REMEMBERS ROSEANN

Text below is from the Philadelphia Orchard Project Website

"Roseann was the enthusiastic and loving cornerstone of the school’s Farm-To-Table program begun in 2013, which connected Overbrook students to healthy food, on-site gardening opportunities, an ever-expanding school orchard, and in-development greenhouse. She served at the school for 15 years as a Registered Nurse, Certified Nurse Practitioner, and Health Services Coordinator, and was recounted lovingly by staff and the larger community as one of the most encouraging, dedicated, and positive people and team members, who always had a kind word of support to share and a new idea to explore that could expand students’ horizons. She had the unique gift of making everyone feel appreciated — from staff who had known her for many years, to volunteers who came in to lend a hand, even for an afternoon.

In March 2017, she initiated a new collaborative curriculum endeavor named GrowAbility with agricultural educators around the city — including Overbrook, Elwyn, and Easter Seals schools, POP, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Penn State Extension, 4-H, Associated Services for the Blind, Philadelphia Free Library’s Culinary Literacy Center, Greener Partners, and others — to asses how garden curriculum could be adapted for special needs students. In our last meeting together, we brainstormed ideas for new projects like making music from the plants of the orchard with a device that could translate plants’ electrical signaling into music, and could be felt by students with deep-bodily sensory-input needs through students’ vibratory backpacks. She delighted in the collaboration of new ideas, how they germinated and grew. Her giving heart, commitment to her work and community, and her service-oriented spirit was unparalleled and will be sorely missed as a project partner we are blessed to have had, and as a kindred friend. It’s our deep wish that the continuation of this work honors her legacy for all those who were blessed to know her and carry her intentions and plans forward.

Honeybee Sensory Lesson

In honor of Roseann McLaughlin and the collective consortium of educators she gathered, we share the first sensory-lesson book created by POP and reviewed by the GrowAbility collective as an adaptive activity guide book for special needs students. Inspiration for the format first came from Linda Bucher of Overbrook School for the Blind, who supported the school’s Farm-to-Table program along with Roseann, teacher Lee Stough, Library Assistant/Farm-to-Table Job Coach Shannon Walsh, School Nutritionist Cathy Dorazio, and art teacher Susan DiFabio.

Each page in this Honeybee Sensory Lesson Book (downloadable here) pairs information about the topic, life and role of honeybees in the larger ecosystem, with a sensory component that involves some mix of sight, smell, taste, movement, music / auditory input, solitary, and group work in recognition of the many ways students of all levels create pathways for learning, experience, and retention.

Farm to Table