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JACKSON – Growing a garden is one way to bring a community together.

Northampton County Schools is partnering with Healthier Generations and Cooperative Extension to create a community garden beginning this month at Central Elementary School in Jackson. They are currently seeking volunteers to get involved in the project.

Sherita Cobb, the district’s Executive Director of Student Support, explained that the project came about from the Student Health Advisory Council and its partnership with Healthier Generations. They wanted to make sure students and families in the county had more access to fresh vegetables as well as to promote healthy eating.

“It is open to all Northampton County Schools students,” Cobb explained. “Our goal is to include lessons and activities that support gardening and growing your own food.”

Participating students will have the opportunity to be a part of the whole gardening process from planting through harvesting.

Cobb said there are several ways students will be able to learn from the experience, ranging from the process of sustainably growing nutritious vegetables to the science of farming and agriculture.

“We also hope they will learn about fresh vegetables that they have not had access to before, and how to prepare them and make delivery meals,” she continued.

The garden will include a variety of fruit and vegetables.

But because it’s a “community garden,” the school district is seeking local volunteers to help out and reap the benefits as well.

“Our hope is that eventually many in the community will support it and be able to benefit from it,” Cobb explained. “The harvest will be open and available to the Northampton County community.”

Volunteers can help with many aspects of the project.

That includes construction and maintenance (helping build raised beds, preparing the soil, installing irrigation, maintaining garden infrastructure), planting and cultivation (assisting in planting, tending to the garden during growing season), education and engagement (helping facilitate educational activities and workshops), and harvesting and distribution (ensuring that the fruits of the participants’ labor benefit the school community and beyond).

Though the community garden project is still in its beginning stages, Cobb said, “my desire is that this project lives on in this community for years to come.”

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Sherita Cobb at cobbs@northampton.k12.nc.us or visit the district’s website for more information: www.northampton.k12.nc.us