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1/18/2021 Parent Update

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Farm to Table

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      • M. Christine Murphy Horticulture Education
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Watch Us Grow

Farm to Table Summer Crew

Experiential Learning

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 sustainable agriculture. Overbrook is incredibly proud of its Farm to Table Program and how it has grown over the last 8 years. We have a Food Forest on campus, and over 60 fruit and nut trees in our orchard. We are so grateful to be working with such amazing organizations like Philadelphia Orchard Project, Philadelphia Horticulture Society, Penn State, Elwyn, Green Mountain Energy, Philadelphia Water Departments Watershed Program. The list is long and we feel like we have only just begun. The goal of our program is to improve child nutrition, support local farms and farmers and learn best practices from them, improve our neighborhood and our carbon footprint, provide job training and employment, teach daily living skills through practical application and of course increase food and nutrition education. 

In 2009 our 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. We have student wellness representatives that meet with our Nutritionist, Cathy Dorzaio, to plan for healthy meals and events, and provide input regarding food choices and how to best utilize the food that they sourced from our gardens.

Grants and Praise

What started out as a series of raised beds has since grown to include an orchard of nearly 60 trees (Philadelphia's 3rd largest orchard), and attracted with an NFL "Play 60" grant, and additional funding from Whole Foods' Whole Kids Foundation. In the region, our Farm to Table program has "Best Children's Garden" from Philadelphia Horticultural Society and continues to grow into something new each day. 

Infographic explaining a Food Forest

Horticulture Center Expands Offerings

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 has constructed an on-campus Horticulture Center. The M. Christine Murphy Horticulture Education Center 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 out the amazing horticulture center which is very close to complete! We are so excited!

If you are interested in supporting the Overbrook School for the Blind, please contact our development office by calling 215-877-0313 ext. 264.

 


Farm to Table Produce Sale

Cart full of fruits and vegetables with a sign that reads "Farm to Table".

Stop by our student produce sale every other Wednesday in Lions Hall from 9:30 am to 11:00 am.



Farm to Table Feature

Honeybee
"GROWABILITY" honeybee lesson
AVAILABLE From Philadelphia orchard project


In memory of Roseann who was our beloved nurse and a mighty force behind our Farm to Table program. 

Text below was written by Alyssa, from the  Philadelphia Orchard Project Website who worked closely with Roseann in helping us grow our program. 

"Roseann was the enthusiastic and loving cornerstone of the school’s Farm-To-Table program, 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. 


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