Princeton School Gardens Founder, Dorothy Mullen

With funding for deer fencing from the school district and a self-taught knowledge of organic gardening, Dorothy Mullen, a diet and lifestyle counselor in Princeton, NJ started an organic school garden at Princeton's Riverside Elementary School . "I'm so stupid, I don't know what I can't do," is the answer I got from her after asking about the history of the garden and how it had been so successful combining school gardens and curriculum. Her humble answer was a window into the enthusiasm she has brought to this "job" as a visionary, a gardener, a volunteer, an activist and someone keeps thinking outside the box.

Started as a peace-oriented community service idea after 9/11, and using merely one gardening book by author Dick Raymond, Dorothy broke ground with the first beds in October 2001. Now, the garden has grown to include a 35x65 vegetable and instrumental bed; a 25x30 boxed herb bed; a drought tolerant border lining the driveway; a 60 foot butterfly garden; a native grass garden and an instructional/curriculum garden.

As the beds have multimplied, the use of the gardens as a part of the school's curriculum has too. Teachers use the garden as a tool to teach math, science and creative writing, not to mention the growing season and vegetables, which teach children where their food comes from.

According to Dorothy, the curriculum ties were obvious. Although district and state curriculum didn't drive this type of garden-based education program, the participation rate of the faculty is now almost 100%.

Dorothy's vision is an ever-changing vista of color, growth and trial and error. She uses flowers and certain plants to divert attention away from choice vegetables in order not to go the pesticide, chemical route to gardening. She encourages parents to participate and engages families to pick a week in the summer to weed and harvest and water, while school is out of session. Her ideas know no bounds as this garden takes on an almost surreal role in the life of the school and the surrounding community.

It is a vision that should be modeled in elementary schools around the state and then expanded to middle school and high schools as well. Connecting children to the land, and to the process of growing living things and of seeing the cycles of life that coexist with the seasons reaps rewards beyond what a school classroom can provide.

We need more Dorothy Mullens who are willing to dig in and jump into an idea whose time has come. Thankfully, though, we have her to learn from.