This fall, Littlebrook welcomed Lesley Bush to its garden team as Garden Educator. Lesley is a former science teacher and master gardener and will be teaching garden lessons to each class in the school five times over the course of the year. In her lessons this fall, each grade started work on its Grade Garden Project for the year, and participated in the school-wide harvest of fall crops.
Another highlight this fall was preparing fresh-from-the-garden veggies right in the classroom using a new cooking cart, which was donated by PSGC through its Garden State on Your Plate grant. First graders made a rubbed kale salad, with celery and nasturtiums, for the welcome back family picnic. 
Kindergarteners made a pear sauce from our prolific pear tree. Fourth graders cooked up butternut squash from the three sisters bed. And fifth graders tasted roasted eggplant dip, made from our own eggplants by LB mom and chef, Jen Carson.
The kids brought in the remaining crops just before this year’s fall freeze and they were displayed at a Harvest Table at the pancake breakfast on October 29. Families and staff in attendance got to bring home a bag of fresh LB-grown veggies!
Last month, in recognition of Farm-to-School month, the Community Park PTO held its first-ever “Help Our Garden Grow” Day. It was an overwhelming success, as more than 20 families around the community showed up to volunteer. As they soaked in the sunshine, these parents and students installed two new gorgeous raised beds, cleaned and mulched existing beds, expanded two gardens in the back of the school, painted rain barrels, decorated and hung new signs in each garden, planted several new shrubs and trees, and repaired garden furniture. Mr. Emmons, the school’s science teacher, was delighted with the improvements. As a result of these accomplishments and the CP community’s hard work, he was able to jump into winter garden preparation with his students in late October.