While many schools appear dark and empty for the summer, life is bustling despite the lack of students.

Summer is a time for major school construction and cleaning projects that can’t happen when buildings are bustling with children. More recently, eighteen Pittsburgh schools used the long days of summer as a time for nourishing their Learning Gardens.

This summer saw the construction of eight new Learning Gardens at schools across the city: Perry High School, Classical Academy, Evergreen Elementary, Brashear High School, Manchester K-8,  Liberty K-5, Banksville Elementary, and Propel Braddock Hills Middle School.

In the older school gardens, that were installed in the spring and fall of last school year, dozens of family, teacher, and community volunteers throughout Pittsburgh cared for the summer crops. The gardens became a point of connection for families and students to their school over the summer, able to take home the fruits of their labor as the crops ripen throughout the season.

The Learning Garden programming continues to grow as new installs are being planned for later this fall. If your school is interested in a garden, contact Eva Barinas, the school garden coordinator at eva@growpittsburgh.org.