BRUNSWICK — At 1 p.m. Sunday, volunteers at Harriet Beecher Stowe School will assemble raised beds and fill them with soil in preparation for spring planting.

Organized by parent Sarah Wolpow, a Cumberland County Master Gardener, the effort aims to add Stowe to a growing list of schools nationally that maintain school gardens.

“The garden project is designed to be a hands-on teaching opportunity for students and faculty,” a release from organizers states. “The garden will include vegetables as well as a small flower plot to attract birds, butterflies, and other pollinators.”

The Stowe gardens will include six raised beds, with access for disabled students in a specially designed bed.

Five classes have started seeds indoors for a variety of crops, including kale, spinach, lettuce and bok choy, all of which can be harvested and sampled before summer break. A spring harvest party is in the works, according to the release.

Families also have signed up to tend the garden over the summer.

All materials have been donated by local businesses and parents,.

“The generosity of the community, in terms of both materials and time, is extraordinary,” Wolpow said in the release.

School gardens also are planned for Coffin Elementary School and Brunswick Junior High School, the release states.

For more information about the Harriet Beecher Stowe school gardens, contact Wolpow at 721-0941 or [email protected].

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