On this day, we will begin the initial ground preparation of the garden. This will involve lots of shoveling and getting dirty. It will be a great opportunity for students to learn about gardening and it will be lots of fun. We will begin planting fruits and vegetables later in the year.

The style of garden being built is a lasagna garden. It is not called this because of what will be grown in the garden, but because it utilizes alternating layers of high nitrogen and high carbon organic matter to add fertility to the soil. To prepare this garden,  a thin layer of cardboard is placed on top of the grass. This kills all the plants below and prevents them from making it up through the next layers. On top of that a goes a layer of high carbon organic material, then a layer of high nitrogen organic material, and a final layer of high carbon material.

In the end, over a foot of material will be added to the soil. Over the next few months, until planting season, all of this material gradually breaks down to provide an excellent highly fertile planting area.

Because this technique utilizes no tilling the soil beneath all the additional organic material is preserved.The addition of all this nutrient high material attracts earthworms and beneficial micro-organisms, which break down the original dirt below and increase the availability of these nutrients. Because the majority of this material is recycled, this gardening style diverts something that would otherwise be sent to a landfill.

For more information on lasagna gardening see http://www.plantingseedsblog.com/2009/10/how-to-plant-a-lasagna-garden/.

To obtain a permission slip for this event click here: MLKPermision Slip

To see a flyer for this event click here: MLKdayFlyer

The teens visited the site located along Raccoon and Indian Creeks with faculty from West Virginia University’s School of Landscape Architecture, staff of Groundwork Wyoming County and the Upper Guyandotte Watershed Association, and Wyoming County 4H volunteers to inventory the area.  The group learned about plant and animal species on the site and composed creative drawings and other art with natural materials they found.  The site visit allowed the youth to become familiar with the space and to see what is present so that they could visualize how to build upon existing treasures and what other elements need to be added to facilitate learning.

Back at the Wyoming County 4H Camp, the group participated in a design session where they were able to sketch what they would like the site to look like and how it would serve as an outdoor classroom.  The faculty from WVU will use the students’ designs to create an overall design for the space.  This design will be presented to Cliffs and partner organizations that are working on the development of the outdoor classroom and will be used for the basis of the space’s design.

For more information on the Cliffs Outdoor Classroom project contact Jim Kosowski, Public Affairs Officer with Cliffs Natural Resources at james.kosowski@cliffsnr.com or Susan England-Lord, WVU Extension Agent in Wyoming County at 304-732-8000.

Winners in each competition will receive gift card prizes and the grand prize winner (top score in all three competitions) will receive a cash prize.  Raffle drawings, 50/50, and concessions will also take place at the Shootout.

Contact Megan Smith at 304-250-7053 or GroundowrkWC@gmail.com with any questions.

Click here to view the Wyoming County Shootout Flyer

Click here to download an entry form.

Survey link:    http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e31xc7augevmvha3/a011kgirtb99j/questions