Help us celebrate with our Methow Valley Elementary School children the beauty of Earth Day, every day! If you’d like to volunteer to help with our festivities at school on this day, contact Kim@classroominbloom.org
Classroom in Bloom will host a booth of activities and garden fun at the 3rd Annual Earth Day Festival sponsored by Methow Recycles. See their website at https://www.methowrecycles.org/events/earth-day
Join our 5th grade students at their Annual Spring Plant Sale as they sow, grow, tend and sell veggie and flower plants starts as a fund raiser for their school garden. This one-day sale, mid-week gives the students a full opportunity to run their school farm.
GARDEN SALES MAY 17th
Students will sell the bulk of their veggie and flower plant starts on the day of the event. Staff and volunteers will be at the market inbetween to fill in the gaps.
ONLINE SALE MAY 6-14
There will be limited online sales one-week beforehand, with pickup at the garden on Fri, May 17th at the Plant Sale. Stay Tuned!
In garden camp we’ll be celebrating pollinators, listening to birds, exploring life under the soil, eating our way around the world, and planting seeds of joy throughout each week!
Monday–Thursday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.;
Ages 6-11 yrs
(6 yr old children must be entering 1st grade in fall 2024)
$245/camp check and cash registration; $250 cc registration.
Financial Aide available!
Week 1. Feathered, Flying Friends (June 24-27)
Listen closely, can you hear a bird singing? We’ll tune in to the world of birds in and around the garden this week. Observation, songs, skits, games, and projects will all be inspired by the cacophony of bird song and sounds that fill the air.
Week 2: Pollination Celebration (July 1-3 *Monday- Wednesday*)
Bees, butterflies, birds, bats, beetles and more! We will investigate the creatures who’ve been busy helping the garden plants make seeds. In return, we will create pollinator habits and maybe throw a pollinator party, or two.
Week 3: Garden Ecosystems (July 8-11)
Who else calls the garden home? How do we all interact in the intricate web of life? We’ll take a close look at life all around, big, small and miniscule. We’ll discover new species that have been hiding in plain sight. Our games, projects and stories will explore the ways in which we are all connected.
Week 4: Hide and Seeds (July 15-18)
Seeds, the tiny miracle of life, are developing now throughout the garden. We will explore the places where they hide, practice seed-saving, and cook seedy snacks. You’ll want to skip the neon t-shirts this week, because we’ll be playing a variety of hiding games in the garden and beyond.
Week 5: Eat Your Way Around the World (July 22-25) - FULL
Put on your chef hat and we’ll travel the world through our taste buds, learning where our favorite garden foods come from and how cultures around the world use fresh ingredients to cook delicious meals.
Week 6: Life in the Soil (July 29- Aug 1) - FULL
In the dog days of summer, who hasn’t thought of crawling under the cool soil to hide from the heat? We’ll get grounded while imagining what life is like underground. We will meet and join forces with the decomposers that build the soil, play and sculpt with clay and earth, and make edible and compostable creations.
Questions? Send Mia and email at mia@classroominbloom.org
for a full list of summer camps available in the Methow Valley, see https://littlestarschool.org/summer-camps
(Homegrown garden snacks and drinks provided)
Please come and join us before students are back in the garden on April 8th. A few projects we need help with include: Gazebo TLC, hedgerow tidying, root cellar drainage, fence repair,berry patch love.
Please RSVP to kim@classroominbloom.org if you can make it.
Hosted by Methow Valley Seed Collective, Classroom in Bloom and the Twisp Valley Grange
Interactive program begins at 2:00pm to learn about the ways we all save seed and the ways we can support each other in creating a community of seed savers to support our present and future seed security.
2:45 starts our Seed Swap! We can learn from each other about the varieties that we bring, and how they are maintained. You are NOT required to bring seed in order to take seed, all seed is given freely at this Seed Swap.
Please bring envelopes, bags or jars to take seed home in.
Methow Valley Seed Collective and Classroom in Bloom will bring some different dishes of food to share that are created from seed varieties that we grow. Please bring a side dish of your own that features a crop that you grew, especially one from which you brought seed to share.
Methow Valley Seed Collective/Twisp River Seed www.mvseedcollective.com
Anaka Mines with Methow Valley Seed Collective will share some introductory concepts on how to save your own seeds from common crops in the Methow Valley. She’ll discuss the basics of how to adapt crops to our climatic region and why it’s so important to be adaptive in our approach to agriculture. As founder of the Methow Valley Seed Collective, she asks how can we work together as a community to maintain a supply of local seeds that we can all use and share? – the heart of seed saving. Her talk is a prelude to the community Seed Swap and Gathering on 18 February.
Support and Buy Local! Purchase a sample of Classroom in Bloom’s bounty to support your youth farmers at the Methow Valley Elementary School. Students have been preparing for weeks to host their own Farmers Market: 4th grade students will sell produce and High School Culinary Arts will offer sample dishes of the variety of foods grown here in their school garden.
This project is supported and in partnership with PSFA - our Public School Funding Alliance. http://www.methowvalleypsfa.org/
During the month of October, Classroom in Bloom is participating in Give Methow – an online fundraising campaign. You can support us and all the other Methow Valley organizations with missions you value in one easy on-line site at www.givemethow.org. Until Oct 1, you can still give to this campaign on our Classroom in Bloom online platform, and it will count towards our GiveMethow goals!
Now more than ever, we recognize how much the word Together means. Our mission works together with that of so many other organizations to make the Methow such a vibrant, resilient, and connected community focused on building a strong future.
As part of Give Methow, every donation is “stretched” through a designated stretch pool of funds, so this a great time to make your gift go further. And, if you donate on a Funday Monday, you’ll be entered to win the chance to give $500-$1000! to the organization of your choice.
An evening under the sunflowers and amidst friends and family of the Valley to celebrate and raise funds for garden programs that bring life-changing benefits of outdoor science and art education, and farm fresh food to children of the Methow Valley through their public schools.
$32 per ticket (includes credit card service fees)
party for adults over 21 only
Please email Mia@classroominbloom.org with your name, child’s name, email and phone number and which week you are interested in, to put your child’s name on the wait list.
These thoughtful camps will get your children into the great outdoors, studying pollinators, eating fresh food, learning about nature while playing games with their friends. Art, science, exploration and FUN are the key elements to each week!
Monday–Thursday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.;
Ages 6-11 yrs
(6 yr old children must be entering 1st grade in fall 2023)
$240/camp, scholarships available! Lunch and transportation provided
Garden Art and Music (July 10-13)
The garden is one of the best places to let our creativity unfurl. We will open our senses to the inspiration around the garden and play with different art forms such as sketching, painting, sculpting, and singing. We will also peek into the lives of garden creatures to find out what they’ve been busy creating
Plant Magic (July 17-20)
With the garden reaching its full summer brilliance, we will explore the mysterious and magical world of plants! We will cook with plants that nourish, learn the ones that heal, build with plants that are flexible and strong, and fill canvases with plants that provide pigment.
Eat Your Way Around the World (July 24-27)
Put on your chef hat and we’ll travel the world through our taste buds, learning where our favorite garden foods come from and how cultures around the world use fresh ingredients to cook delicious meals.
Down in the Ground (July 31- Aug 3)
In the dog days of summer, who hasn’t thought of crawling under the cool soil to hide from the heat? We’ll get grounded while imagining what life is like underground. We will meet and join forces with the decomposers that build the soil, play and sculpt with clay and earth, and make edible and compostable creations.
Victor will join us in the Methow Valley to tell his story of growing up in a small village in the Democratic Republic of Congo. From the age of 6, he assisted his grandfather in growing food for the family with no tools but iron hoes. Seeds and farming literally gave life to his family and friends as they escaped warfare to the jungle to live for months and years. His love of growing food would eventually lead him to become a sustainable gardening activist working with the organization Slow Food. Through the 10,000 Gardens of Africa project, Victor took the lead in establishing 50 school and community gardens in the midst of a war zone. Victor will share the story of his life in a broken country, working to bring hope and sustenance to people in need!
Sponsored by Classroom in Bloom and the Grange
at the Twisp Valley Grange
Dessert and drinks provided - Free to our Community
There will be donation cards available for folks to take with them to donate to the NGO 1000 Gardens of Africa, through SlowFood Foundation (https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/what-we-do/10-000-gardens-in-africa-2/).
Slow Food Gardens in Africa - What We Do - Slow Food Foundation
The Slow Food Gardens in Africa network is growing: a network of people working across the continent to preserve biodiversity, add value to traditional
www.fondazioneslowfood.com
Join our 5th grade students at their Annual Spring Plant Sale as they sow, grow, tend and sell veggie and flower plants starts as a fund raiser for their school garden. This one-day sale, mid-week gives the students a full opportunity to run their school farm.
GARDEN SALES - MID-MAY TBD
Students will sell the bulk of their veggie and flower plant starts from 9:30-12:30 and again from 2-3:30pm. Staff and volunteers will be at the market inbetween to fill in the gaps.
ONLINE SALES - DATE TBD
There will be limited online sales the one-week beforehand, with pickup at the garden on Thu, May 18th at the Plant Sale. The online plant sale will be posted and open on May 10th here. Stay Tuned!
Classroom in Bloom will host a booth of activities and garden fun at the 2nd Annual Earth Day Festival sponsored by Methow Recycles at the Doran Ranch!
Help us celebrate with our Methow Valley Elementary School children the beauty of Earth Day, every day! If you’d like to volunteer to help with our festivities at school on this day, contact Kim@classroominbloom.org
We will highlight William Morris’s blown-glass artistic sculpture, his generosity to Classroom in Bloom’s garden education programs, and honor Methow Arts programs.
Seating is limited.
Cost is by donation and all funds will benefit Methow Arts and Classroom in Bloom.
This event on March 2nd will celebrate our opening day of the Online Auction for this one of a kind art piece to benefit Classroom in Bloom.
If you have any questions, please contact kim@classroominbloom.org
Hosted by Methow Valley Seed Collective, Twisp Valley Grange and Classroom in Bloom
This gathering will have two components. There will be an interactive talk with some practical information about how to save seeds in the garden and why saving our own seed locally will benefit our community. And there will also be an opportunity for gardeners from all over the valley to share seeds that they have saved from their own gardens with other gardeners.
Please feel free to come with seed you saved, or leftover packets from seeds you have bought and would like to share your excess. Also, if you have no seed to bring, come as you are, the seeds at this gathering are gifts from the earth to be shared freely, as are the stories and knowledge that we will share.
Methow Valley Seed Collective/Twisp River Seed www.mvseedcollective.com
Classroom in Bloom will be at the Outdoor Winter Market selling hats, mugs, hoodies and seeds for your holiday shopping gifts!
Mistletoe Madness in Twisp will showcase a variety of artists, makers and crafters with a Winter Market! Stroll downtown Twisp both indoors and outdoors to browse photography, jewelry, pottery, clothing, wreaths, mittens, books, paintings, and much more. See you there!
Support and Buy Local! Purchase a sample of Classroom in Bloom’s bounty to support your youth farmers at the Methow Valley Elementary School. Students have been preparing for weeks to host their own Farmers Market: 4th grade students will sell produce and High School Culinary Arts will offer sample dishes of the variety of foods grown here in their school garden.
This project is supported and in partnership with PSFA - our Public School Funding Alliance. http://www.methowvalleypsfa.org/
During Give Methow 100% of your donation benefits the nonprofits you choose - the Community Foundation of Northcentral WA covers the credit card fees!
Donate on Funday Monday and you'll be entered to win $500 to use on Give Methow any way you choose! Three winners will be drawn each week.
Support ALL Give Methow nonprofits with a gift to Give to All and your donation will be matched by an anonymous donor.
The impact of school gardens on the health and wellness of our children is needed more than ever. Your gift to Classroom in Bloom is leaving a lasting legacy in support of sustainable farming and local foods. Together we are feeding our children farm produce and empowering them to cultivate their own food - starting with our youngest kinders and growing to our high school seniors in their Farm to School food and education programs.
From the Methow Valley to Okanogan County, thank you for helping every student grow.
The evening will be filled with a giving tree and a silent auction to help raise funds for our garden programs that bring life-changing benefits of gardening and farm fresh food to children of the Methow Valley and Okanogan County through their public schools.
If you have an item you would like to donate to our silent auction, please contact Susan Ernsdorff at susanernsdorff@gmail.com
Please inquire if needed, or if you’d like to donate for another student to attend!
Our youth summer camps provide opportunities for children to grow, prepare and eat healthy foods. We balance farm and cooking life at each camp with exploration, art, field-based science, and games that help connect us to the natural world. We’ll meet worms and pollinators, collect and plant seeds, create nature art, build with natural materials, and explore life on the farm. Themes each week will vary based on the seasonality of the garden!
A few spots are available in many camps, so inquire within for more info!
We are opening up June 27-30th for all ages! This June 27-30th week, we’ll be in two cohorts: littles (5-7 yr olds) and older students (8-10 yr olds) - REGISTRATION STILL OPEN FOR THIS CAMP!
Come support your Elementary and High School students who will GROW and SELL your veggie and flower starts at this in-person, farmers market-style plant sale hosted by students from 9am-12pm at the school garden.
The afternoon (noon-6pm) will also be dedicated to selling plants but hosted by volunteers. Plus, for those that would like to order online, you can do so 1-week in advance and pickup your orders on the day of the event.
Thank you to our incredible sponsors of The Spring Plant Sale this year!
Methow Valley Master Gardeners
We’d like to thank Public School Funding Alliance and Methow Valley School District for their support to enrich the learning environment for all Methow Valley students!
Support your garden education programs by Giving Methow today! Your donation goes directly to education, covering the cost of 3 employees to oversee the garden, the elementary programs, and our teen high school curriculum.
2021 has been a tough year, again - but Classroom in Bloom continues to have record numbers of students in the garden each day and each week. Due to high demand, we have expanded to year-round programs, keeping our children safe in their outdoor classroom and greenhouse during and after school each week. We are focused on feeding our community to make sure that students have healthy snacks at school, recipes and ingredients to cook at home with their families, and fresh local food in their school lunches. We encourage and inspire children to grow their own food and find inspiration in nature-based science and art.
Thank you for your support!
Support and Buy Local! Purchase a sample of Classroom in Bloom’s bounty to support your youth farmers at the Methow Valley Elementary School. Students have been preparing for weeks to host their own Farmers Market: 4th grade students will sell produce and offer sample dishes of the variety of foods grown here in their school garden.
This project is supported and in partnership with PSFA - our Public School Funding Alliance. http://www.methowvalleypsfa.org/
Classroom in Bloom and Okanogan Conservation District are organizing a K-6th grade Science and Garden Teacher Training for September 18th, 9:00 – 1:00. STEM clock hours will be available. Educators can register here through NCW ESD PD Enroller. Registration deadline is September 12th. There is a registration limit, so if you are interested in attending, register as soon as you can. We will showcase NGSS garden lessons, practice sensory exploration, a garden tour, and share garden insights.
Birds in our Backyard (June 28-July1) Cancelled due to Extreme Temperatures
Let’s explore our resident and visiting birds to find out who is living in and around the garden, and why they’re such an important part of the living landscape. Let’s “be the bird” as we open our awareness to the different shapes, sizes, songs and calls of the birds in our backyard.
Natures Musical Garden (July 5-8) FULL
Join us for a week of deep listening to find the sounds of nature occurring all around us in the garden. We will gather to create a soundscape of the garden, as well as find creative ways to add to nature’s orchestra!
Ethnobotany (July 12-15) 2 spots available
Plants and humans evolved alongside one another in a symbolic dance of discovery and creation. Come along on a journey through time to discover how people once lived and crafted with the materials around them.
Pollinators (July 19-22) 3 spots available
Pollinators help flowers produce seeds we need to grow food! Come discover the magic of pollination within different flowers, and the critters that make it all possible as we investigate the many faces, forms, and habitats of our pollinator friends throughout the garden and beyond.
Garden Chefs (July 26-29) FULL with waitlist
This week will be fueled by flavor and fun as we celebrate and express our imaginations through food related art projects and attune our senses to the fine flavors and aromas abounding in the summer garden.
Upcycled Art (August 2-5) FULL with waitlist
It’s project time! In partnership with Methow Recycles, we will be creatively repurposing recycled materials to bring beauty to the garden while learning new ways to reuse our “waste” to make fun, useful objects.
Artistic Chefs (August 9-12) 4 spaces available
Food and Art come together for magic in the garden this week. Artistic expressions with garden goodies as our subject. Beauty and tasty treats abound.
Registration Opens on March 29th, 2021.
Classroom in Bloom is a non-profit school garden program hiring two educators to work with children of all ages in an outdoor environment, learning from nature and building science and art programs connected to our school farm. The positions are autonomous but collaborative in nature, working alongside with the Exec Director, Farm Manager, volunteers and the organizations Board of Directors. Our focus is on garden education, food security, farming, community outreach and non-profit management. Applications due to kim@classroominbloom.org on Sunday, June 13th but we will still take applications until we find the right fit.
Both positions are 32 hrs/wk year-round; $18-20/hr DOE
Spring planting season is coming and Classroom in Bloom is growing your spring seedling starts for you this year! Last year’s plant sale was so successful that we are going to do it again- and with more plants to sell. This year, the students will grow hundreds of your veggie and flower starts, and we’ll socially distance with an in-person farmers market-style plant sale on May 15th.
All funds raised will go towards our school garden education programs!
We’d like to thank Public School Funding Alliance and Methow Valley School District for their support to enrich the learning environment for all Methow Valley students!
New plants added: Gladiola bulbs, dahlia starts, potted lilacs, new varieties of tomatoes & eggplants, black magic jalepeno and habanero peppers, and more!
Classroom in Bloom is hosting a FREE film screening of Kiss the Ground, a full-length documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson that sheds light on a "new, old approach" to farming called "regenerative agriculture" that has the potential to balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies and feed the world. A community discussion will follow to share ideas of soil regeneration in our own northcentral WA farming communities, and how we can locally fight Climate Change through our food growing systems.
To join the discussion and watch the Film Screening, signup for your Zoom link below which will emailed to you on March 16th. Hope to see you there!
This screening is free thanks to generous grants from the Kiss the Ground organization!
Classroom in Bloom’s non-profit 501c3 organization whose vision is to connect children to sustainably grown food to support the health of our people, place and planet. We use our garden as a living classroom to spark curiosity and wonder and inspire life-long learning.
