Recently, a garden bed was planted near the playground at Westford Academy. This garden, a Fresh Start project funded by Fat Moon Farms and Whole Foods Market, is one of many beds installed throughout Westford Public Schools.

The science coordinator at the elementary schools, contacted Health Curriculum Coordinator Sean O’Leary when they found out that the new Whole Foods was offering grants for gardens after its opening on May 4. The middle schools’ gardens were funded by Emerson Hospital, and the elementary schools’ gardens were funded by Circle Health.

Fat Moon Farms provided part of the funding and also initial maintenance, but general gardening procedures will have to be carried out by WA. This poses a problem in terms of produce and harvest: plants that bear fruit in summer, such as tomatoes, will not be grown because there will be no one to maintain the garden.

For now, the plants include cilantro, basil, thyme, parsley, and other herbs that are easy to incorporate into salads and soups. The Life Skills students, who also help out with compost, will do daily maintenance. Maria Henderson’s nutrition class has also offered to help.

However, students who volunteer to help with the gardens will receive a bounty of benefits, says O’Leary.

“Once you have the basic know-how, it’s not super difficult to grow your own vegetables and fruits, and stuff like that. It’s more environmentally responsible to do that. We’re trying to raise some awareness so that people know that it’s not all that difficult to do on your own,” O’Leary said.

He feels that gardening is a segue to discovering vocational skills as well as opening doors to employment. According to O’Leary, there are 180 backyard gardens in Westford as well as multiple small farms. Gardening at WA, he says, will make employment at these areas a natural next step.

He also feels that the presence of fresh produce in meals or simply seeing the process will increase environmental awareness.

“We live in a day and age where it’s so easy to stop on your way home and grab dinner, without giving any consideration to to what’s in it […] Fresher ingredients are usually healthier ingredients, they pack more nutritional value,” O’Leary said.

Another environmental initiative occuring at Westford Academy is the greenhouse proposal. As of now, these projects are separately funded and not connected, but O’Leary hopes that in the future they will be able to bring together these two projects.

“[T]hey’re both aimed at the same objective: creating some awareness, providing some vocational skills, supplementing school lunches, providing healthier options. So we’re hoping that although right now they’re separate projects that in the future they will move towards the same objectives,” he said.

O’Leary believes that this motivation is a characteristic of Westford, and hopes that they will move forward with various town-wide projects in the future.

“There are a lot of initiatives happening with multiple objectives we’re achieving,” he said.