Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds

Our first lecture series is scheduled for June 1, 2011 at 6:30pm at BCHMCPS.  These lecture series will be held on a quarterly basis and are free.  All community members are welcome to attend.  This one will be for adults and focus on developing healthy eating habits.  Dr. Kumara Sidhartha from Emerald Physicians of Hyannis is leading up the adult portion of our Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds educational lecture series.  More lectures for children and adults involving nutrition and exercise are in the works, so please visit back frequently for updates.  In the meantime, here is Dr. Sidhartha's biography.

Dr.Kumara Sidhartha grew up in Salem, South India.  He graduated from medical school at GMK Medical College in Salem, India in 1995. He moved to the United States when he got accepted for a MD training program. In 2002, he completed the medical residency training at Lincoln Hospital- affiliated with Cornell University, NY. He was ranked in the top 10 percentile in the United States when he got certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 2003. His Swiss medical training in 2008 and 2009 made him a diplomat of European Biological Medicine, a nutrition-centered natural therapeutic philosophy practiced at Paracelsus Klinik in Switzerland. He is certified in Plant-Based Nutrition by Cornell University in NY. Dr.Sidhartha is currently studying Master of Public Health Nutrition, with the distance learning program at University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He is currently in practice as a primary care physician in Cape Cod with special focus on Nutrition. For the past eight years, his patients have benefited from his guidance in changing their diets to prevent and treat chronic diseases. Dr.Sidhartha also teaches Nutrition, Anatomy and Physiology at the Kind Yoga Teacher Training School, a nationally certified institute in Cape Cod. He is the founder and president of the Institute for Inter-Connected Communities in India, a non-profit organization with a vision to create role-model communities which are healthy, resilient, sustainable and self-reliant. He is a member of the American College of Preventive Medicine. He is a member of the American Professional Speakers Association and the World Speakers Association. He does regular public lectures and seminars on nutrition topics in Cape Cod and Boston area in the US and in South India.

Mark your calendars.  This should be a great way to start our series!

It Takes A Village

Seed trays are ready for planting

In this case, it's the seven villages within the town of Barnstable!  Our school is unique and extremely proud to say that we are a school of choice representing students from all seven villages.  As the ground continues to thaw and the buds form on the trees, we are starting our plans to plant seedlings in the classroom.  Over 365 students at our school will be responsible for planting and caring for these tender seedlings.  Once the seeds are planted, they will spend the next few weeks sitting upon window sills listening to the classroom's lessons, as they prepare to emerge from their seeds.  Finally, after 7-10 days of germination, they will spring to life as the most delicate seedlings.  They will continue to grow until they can survive on their own outside.  Late May, when we are free from the dangers of frost, they will take root in the warm rich soil. However, we are not ready for those seedlings just yet, we still have to construct that garden!

Seedlings ready to go outside

As the seeds grow and strengthen inside, outside our community volunteers will get ready to make the garden blueprints a reality.  With lumber, nails, hammers and hardware, the 30 raised beds will be constructed.  Soil enriched with compost and supplements will be shoveled into those beds.  It is a great deal of work.  It is going to take many hands to create this living edible classroom.  However, I know that hard work and dedication will yield "fruits" of our labor. We are going to need volunteers to make this garden a reality.  Every child at our school will be involved in the garden.  By volunteering a couple of hours of your valuable time on April 16th, you will be helping to provide students with lessons from our schoolyard garden that will last their entire lifetime.  Life rarely provides people with volunteering opportunities that impact not only today's generations but tomorrow's,  here is one that I think does just that! 

Raised beds grow tomatos

Photo credits:  Chiot's Run

Tomorrow Night

We just wanted to remind everyone that we are having our first volunteer meeting for The Garden at BCHMCPS.  It will be tomorrow night at 6:30pm at the school located at 165 Bearses Way in Hyannis.  We hope to see you there! All are welcome!

A Week Later...

...and we are seeing the children's miniature gardens we planted during our cluster session before the winter break come to life.  Perched upon the windowsill, they have been quietly growing in their miniature greenhouses.  The students are going to be so excited to see them this Friday!

A quick glimpse at our seedlings

Preparations Are Underway

Thank you Edible Cape Cod!

We have started planning our Kick-Off Celebration for The Garden at BCHMCPS.  The community response has been fantastic!  We are even starting to receive donations from local businesses as well.  The support has been amazing and we have decided to add an auction component and bake sale during the Kick-Off to help us raise much needed funds that will make the garden a success this year.  Today, I received a package from Edible Cape Cod.  They have generously donated two beautiful books. Edible is even signed by the authors. 

We have also received donations from Star Market in Hyannis as well as Maffei Landscaping.  We will be creating a page on this website to keep you informed of all the wonderful items that will be available for your bids on April 16th.  Thank you again to our community members for your gracious support.  We would not be here without you!  Please see our new tab "Donor List" at the top of our page to see all those who have generously given to The Garden at BCHMCPS.

Any Thoughts?

Onions



If you are like some of us who have been bitten by the gardening bug, then you are looking through seed catalogues and waiting for the ground to thaw. You are searching your yard for signs of Spring as you venture out to retrieve the mail down the driveway.

We too are getting ready to start planning the crops for our new garden.  Our planting goals are to include

~ hardy and easy to grow crops

~crops that are available to pick in Spring, Summer and Fall

~crops that have high yields in small spaces

With these thoughts in mind, we are planning to plant potatoes, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, blueberries, strawberries, flowers, carrots and assorted lettuces.

Is there anything else that you would like to see growing in our garden?


Photo courtesy of Chiot's Run

Come Outdoors With Us

Did you know that research is now connecting lack of outdoor time to numerous childhood ailments?  These include obesity, depression, stress, diabetes, ADD and poor classroom performance.  Our garden is getting involved and joining others' ideas, efforts and movements around the country.   Partnerships are forming.  Major groups are getting involved to help promote the idea of getting families outdoors.  Today's photo comes to us from one such program, Be Out There, by the National Wildlife Federation.  It has been featured by The Daily Green.

The Garden at BCHMCPS is also doing its part for our school community. We are combining physical activity, thinking skills, art, math, science, teamwork, relationship building, problem solving, journal keeping and opportunities all in our edible outdoor classroom.  It is about new attitudes, new lessons and new ways of thinking.  We believe that much more than plants will grow in our garden.

Photo courtesy of The Daily Green/National Wildlife Federation