The sun is far from setting on a local middle school garden project that has taken on fairy tale proportions. “‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ has nothing on the Patton Project Gardens,” a Chadds Ford Live feature article stated.

Teachers at Kennett Square’s Charles F. Patton Middle School “combined a what-if mentality with a can-do spirit” to cultivate what is now an award-winning effort encompassing a solar-powered greenhouse, 30 raised garden beds, three hydroponic tanks, two high tunnels and more than 6,000 pounds of produce donations to the Chester County Food Bank.

“I never dreamed that this project would have grown into what it is now, but hard work and perseverance have paid off,” teacher Kim Hisler said in the article.

The most recent of a growing number of honors bestowed upon the project was an American School Board Journal first-place Magna Award and spotlight recognition at the National School Boards Association annual meeting this Saturday.

“I can only hope that other districts around the country will hear of this program and seek to replicate it in their own communities,” Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board President Victor Dupuis said in the article. “Imagine the long-term impact this idea could have if it was repeated in 100 or 1,000 districts around the country.”

The idea is already spreading over the county to West Chester, throughout Pennsylvania and across state lines to Delaware. Read more about how it started and who is taking notice of the Patton Project Gardens in Chadds Ford Live here.

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Top Photo via ChaddsFordLive