Charlie Zimmerman, the Education Program Development Specialist for Cape May County at the New Jersey Department of Education, buys produce from students participating in a summer program at Ocean City Primary School. The students harvested the produce from a garden dedicated to the memory of third-grade teacher Mikenzie Helphenstine. Also participating in the day (from left): teacher Abby Maurer (black dress), third-graders Eloise Lento and Olivia Vogt and teacher Megan Gereaghty.
Bill Barlow
OCEAN CITY -- Mikenzie Helphenstine looked at a neglected garden and saw hope.
This summer, students at the Ocean City Primary School are keeping that garden alive while harvesting produce and learning in the process, school officials said this week.
As part of the school's summer program, students work in Mrs. H's Helping Hands Garden, tending to 28 garden beds and two worm-composting boxes. Helphenstine taught third grade and coached multiple sports. In a statement about the garden, the district described her as a beloved teacher.
Helphenstine died in May 2022 after a struggle with cancer. She was 43. She had helped organize teachers to revive the garden by the school, which had been neglected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Helphenstine thought the garden would provide students with valuable lessons and nurture connections in the community, according to Sharon Naplacic, a third-grade teacher who runs the garden program and a friend of Helphenstine.
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"The legacy of my friend and colleague, Mikenzie Helphenstine, quite simply lives on in each child's curiosity and joy," Naplacic said. "Mikenzie's nieces and nephew are involved with the garden, and I like to think she looks down upon us with pride."
School district officials say the garden imparts lessons about pollination, composting, photosynthesis, the parts of a plant and plant identification.
"The students also gain an understanding of how one person can make a lasting, positive impact on the world," district officials said Monday in a statement.
This summer, students grew herbs and flowers and have harvested strawberries, sweet peas, string beans, radishes, beets, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and carrots. For the fall, plans are for sweet potatoes and pumpkins, and for the garden to continue to function as "a living classroom."
Each week, students also get a lesson in cooking the fresh produce, which included zucchini pizza and zucchini muffins with chocolate chips. There were enough items harvested for a produce sale at the school, the second time in two years.
"The Helping Hands Garden provides hands-on learning and real-life experiences," said Naplacic. "The children have a vested interest in the success of the garden and have a strong sense of ownership."
Contact Bill Barlow:
609-272-7290
X @jerseynews_bill
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