By Benjamin Beane

The accolades are piling up for social science teacher Steven Morris and his sixth graders at Martin Middle School, who earned their second EcoRise Eco-Audit Award in just three weeks.

The class received the award for its “Go Green! at Martin Middle School” Project, which will utilize garden beds in Martin’s pollinator garden to grow farm-to-table vegetables for the cafeteria. Using the vegetables could save the district nearly $1,800 annually in offset spending. Surplus harvest will be provided to students to take home, or given or sold to the community.

The award provides $548 in funding that will be used to create the garden beds and purchase the tools, supplies and vegetables. Once construction begins, Morris and his students will learn how to get the most out of their garden.

“We have to get mini-lessons on how to have a green thumb, how to produce vegetables,” Morris said. “Once we are able to produce vegetables, we need to learn how and when to harvest them.”

But produce for the cafeteria and community isn’t the only thing Morris hopes to come from the project — he also wants to provide his students with life skills and personal growth opportunities.

“What I envision, and what our campus envisions, is our students to get responsibility and ownership out of this program that we want to create, as well as an understanding of how to bring gardening back to their home to sustain their life, their livelihood,” Morris said.

Morris and his environmentally-minded class were given an Eco-Audit Award in March for their “Reduce Plastic” Project, which allowed sixth grade students to purchase metal water bottles to divert plastic waste from the landfill and reduce the carbon footprint at Martin.

Not only is Morris committed to improving environmental sustainability at Martin, but as a Teacher Ambassador for EcoRise, he also helps other AISD teachers write grants for projects of their own and encourages teachers to reach out to him for help getting started.

For more information on EcoRise, you can visit www.ecorise.org.

Photo courtesy Alex Indigo via Creative Commons.