When the cutting down of a dead tree outside the cafeteria left a substantial plot of soil vacant, the fifth grade teachers saw it as an opportunity for their students to make a real and creative contribution to the campus. Science teacher Jane Chamberlain explains, “It takes a while for the newest members of the Middle School to be confident about their importance. Planning, planting, and tending a large herb garden seemed to be the perfect project for the fifth graders: a permanent planting for them to be proud of and for the entire community to enjoy. They are using garden tools and learning to grow many kinds of herbs and flowers. In science class they are learning about the scientific structure, historical importance, and many uses of the herbs they plant and tend.”

The project has captured the imagination of students as well as adults throughout the school. Master Gardener Jane Snukis works in the RPS Business Office. She has helped the fifth graders plan and graph the garden design. Many faculty members and Rutgers Prep families who garden have divided their own herbs and perennials and contributed them. So the garden represents the entire Rutgers Prep Community. These many contributions make this an inexpensive project as well. The center of the garden has RPS in red stone, so people flying over will know that they are flying over Rutgers Prep.

On a recent four day trip to a working farm the fifth graders learned to tend animals, as well as how to harvest crops and prepare delicious meals with the plants they harvested. This further inspired them to make their own garden even more useful and beautiful. “At the farm we learned all about new plants and how to care for them. I especially liked ground cherries. They were really delicious and fun to pick! I had never seen or eaten ground cherries before,” ten year old Sindhu Ramachandra of Princeton exclaims with enthusiasm.

Zoya Jaweed of Somerset enjoys the herb garden in a number of ways: “Sometimes we wear old clothes to school. I like digging with the shovel and trowels. I like raking the garden smooth and learning to use all the garden tools. The flowers are another thing I like. We have Mums so the garden looks happy in the Fall. And next Spring the Lavender will bloom in another spot. The colors will move around throughout the season.”

The fifth graders will also make a clay bird bath for the garden. It will have each of their thumb prints on it, so they will physically leave their mark on the garden, too. Looking ahead, teacher Sean Thorne sees even more opportunities growing: “Perennials grow and flourish. They can be divided to beautify other areas of the campus, both by their appearance and by their aroma.”