UPDATE: For more images, visit photo gallery here.
Coan Middle School built on the momentum started last summer with an Edgewood community learning garden with the unveiling of an edible garden in the back of the school’s campus. (See photos of the Edgewood community garden here.) Thanks to a partnership with the Zeist Foundation and the Southeastern Horticultural Society, Coan broke ground on the half-acre garden Thursday afternoon with the help of these and several other partners and officials. Joining in were representatives from the Mayson Avenue Collective, Gas South, Links Inc. and the mayor’s office as well as Atlanta Falcons defensive end (and Coan partner) Chauncey Davis, Atlanta City Council member Natalyn Archibong, Atlanta Board of Education member Cecily Harsch-Kinnane, SRT-3 Executive Director Dr. Robin Hall and APS Director of Nutrition Administration Dr. Marilyn Hughes.
“The biggest factor in having a garden like this is the community involvement it promotes with the our schools,” said Coan Principal Dr. Tonya Saunders. “The second is how important this is from a nutritional standpoint. We need our students to be able to learn about how to eat properly, especially with the high obesity rate among our children today. With this edible garden, we’ll be able to teach subjects in our health class, in our science class and in our home economics class.”
