School News

The Garden of Learning

By Marko Paulić

The honey bees weren’t the only busy ones in Schrank Hall South Culinary Garden this summer. With the help of coordinator, Kathy Schupp, and numerous dietetic students, the garden was transformed into a hands-on classroom where children of all ages rediscovered the importance of a garden through a nutritional point of view.

Weekly tours were given in and around the garden to familiarize the children with the growing stages and variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Stimulating the 5 senses, children smelled, touched, and searched for more than 10 blooming herbs such as sage, neapolitan basil and rosemary. To further understand the garden, lesson plans were incorporated by students and guest speakers like Summit County Master Garderners and Emily Mueller of Mueller Honey Bee Removal. Topics ranged from the possible health benefits of phytochemicals in whole foods to the multiple advantages of starting a garden compost, and the favorable help of insects.

Of course, working with and talking about food causes the stomach to grumble which gave us a reason for an afternoon snack. Children learned to work in teams to prepare nutrient dense foods and try new twists on old classics like herbal tea lemonade.

So, come on down to Schrank Hall South Culinary Garden and see what the buzz is all about!

Summit County Master Gardeners Grant

The Summit County Master Gardeners presented the School of Nutrition and Dietetics Nutrition Center with a check for $496.52.  The funds are to create a culinary garden to be used in a partnership with The University of Akron’s School of Nutrition and Dietetics, the School of Law, Law and Leadership Institute, UA Center for Child Development and the Akron City Mason School.  Student educators will instruct community participants about gardening (plant selection, planting, and harvesting), nutrition, food preparation and cooking.

Featured in the picture below from left to right are Meenal Harankedkar, volunteer;   Karen Petterson and Geoff Kennedy of the Summit County Master Gardeners;  Kathy Schupp, Director of the Nutrition Center; and  Melissa Cherne, Graduate Assistant.

Harankedkar is a garden enthusiast who has volunteered her time and expertise in horticulture and botany to design and create the beautiful gardens.  Cherne, a graduate assistant for the Nutrition Center is responsible for writing the grant.