New Canaan Community Nursery School goes green

New Canaan Community Nursery School, the oldest preschool in New Canaan, has the distinction of being the only pre-school going "green" this year. The school recently completed a major addition with renovations to the building to make it more eco-friendly Director Pamela Turner said.

"The renovation basically sparked our green initiative," Turner said. "Everything has been made with renewable materials and we are trying to instill this `eco' attitude with our kids."

One of the projects some of the children took part in involved making animals out of recyclable materials like cans, towel rolls and boxes. Additionally, the kids are collecting cans and bottles for recycling. The funds from recycling will be sent to El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza, an orphanage in Honduras. While money from recycled cans may not seem like it could do much, Turner explained how even the smallest amount of money can translate into food for a day for an underprivileged child. In fact, $15 provides 250 oranges or bananas, 100 pounds of beans or rice can be provided by $50 while $250 can feed 250 children for an entire day. To take it a step further, $500 provides school materials for all classrooms for a full year. So far the kids at the nursery school have raised $45.

"It is really a great way to help out by recycling," she said. "And our kids here are very excited about it."

Another green push includes rain water. Two different corners of the school have barrels that collect rain water, which in turn can be used to water plants.

"We harvest rainwater at two corners of the school and the children are going to figure out if we can create an irrigation system to keep the garden watered," Turner said.

Sound too complicated for a 5-year-old? As of now, it seems like they are up to the task of gardening. In fact, the garden itself is what is noteworthy. The school has started creating a giant organic garden designed by the children.

"The children will be building it, preparing the soil and choosing the plants and vegetables to grow," Turner said. "The type of garden we will be creating is called the `square foot' garden. It's a wonderful framework for children to work in pre-measured square sections. Each cube will have a different flower or vegetable in it."

So far, they've planted sugar snap peas, basil, carrots among others. This specially designed organic garden is very easy to sustain Assistant Director Giselle Coven says.

"All they really need are the seeds, their hands and some water," Coven added. "This type of `square foot' garden is really easy to maintain. You can grow a lot more in less space."

As far as watering the plants, the kids will collect rain water from the barrels on either end of the school and use that to nourish their seeds.

"They really enjoy it as well," Turner said. "They work together to get the watering and planting done and they do most of it without much help from us. Not to mention, it is also adorable!"

Cuteness aside, Turner hopes to install more plots for the June program to use as the weather improves. If it becomes as successful as she hopes, the school may even incorporate some more sophisticated gardening by harvesting pumpkins and other vegetables in the fall.

As far as other benefits with this initiative, Turner hopes it may even instill some healthy eating habits for kids at such a young age.

"I think they will get a kick out of growing something from a seed to a vegetable and then actually being able to eat it," Turner said with a laugh. "We might be able to create a bunch of organic vegetable eaters in New Canaan."

Turner also joked about how this project is essentially promotes local gardening, even though the idea of local farming might be over her students' heads.

"It doesn't get much more local than your backyard," she added. "Who knows? This might create awareness and manage to cultivate a love of gardening in New Canaan."