2008
Acton Garden Club
Teacher Award Presentations


The Acton Garden Club has established, initially with memorial gifts from friends and family, a grant program in memory of two longtime members, Janet Bubier and Elinor Miller. This grant opportunity, in the amount of up to $500, is open to educators in the Acton Public and Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools. It provides funds for programs or projects in an environmentally related discipline to enrich existing curricula or to provide for the development of new curricula. The grant is provided on an annual basis subject to the approval of the Finance Committee and the Board of the Acton Garden Club.
The Acton Garden Club awarded three grants to local elementary school teachers. Two teachers from Douglas School and one from Merriam School were the happy recipients. At the Douglas School, the AGC is funding two separate projects. The first will be done by Mrs. Kay's kindergarten class. With parental assistance, a trellis and planters will be installed and the children will plant flowers to attract the birds and butterflies outside their classroom window. This will help to camouflage the modular unit they currently see when they look outside. Mrs. Sharp's fifth grade class will be planting containers for four season interest on a deck and railing overlooking a popular entrance to the school. At the Merriam School, Maryann Brandt and three fifth grade classes are working together to clean up an area filled with invasive plant material. There are plans down the road for a Zen Garden.
Grant information and applications are sent via e-mail in October to all Acton and Acton-Boxborough teachers. The deadline is January 31 with March 1 notification.
The Acton Garden Club is pleased to be able to award funds for these worthy projects.

Maura Sharp – Douglas School 5th Grade – “A New Back Porch” – A seedling and gardening project that will enhance the back stairs leading to the playground.
Debbie Kay – Douglas School Kindergarten– “Enhancing Outdoor Spaces” The children will be planting seeds and watching and tending to them. The seedlings will be placed in planter boxes that will be installed on the side of a modular classroom that is blocking their view of the outdoors.
Mary Ann Brandt – Merriam School 5th Grade – “Outdoor Classroom Clean up and Services Project” – Cleaning up, weeding and removing invasive plants from the outdoor classroom area. This is a service project for the 5th grade, but the students will also be planning ways to improve the area with plantings that will attract birds and butterflies.

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