Re: “Gardeners hurl dirt at DPS,” April 6 news story.
A school community garden is more than a place for residents to garden. It creates wonderful partnerships between schools and communities. Students and teachers benefit from hands-on nutrition and science lessons, supporting Denver Public Schools’ curriculum. Neighborhood residents benefit from the opportunity to grow vegetables on school property in a community setting, and volunteer gardeners in turn support teachers by mentoring children and growing healthy food.
A school garden is meant to create closer connections between the school and the neighborhood. Denver Urban Gardens is grateful that DPS allows gardens at schools. We expect gardeners to support the relationship with their host school and follow what we consider to be simple, reasonable and necessary security measures. Completing the one-page background check form simply means that gardeners will go through a basic screening for criminal records.
While we understand the concerns of the gardeners quoted in the article, the general response indicates that most DUG gardeners see the background checks as reasonable. Jewel Wegs, a Park Hill School gardener, said, “I support doing background checks on gardeners who have gardens on school property or even adjacent to the school grounds. Part of the joy of having a garden is to have children come through and to share and work with them. Having a background check is completely understandable. This year a youth group from a nearby church will have a plot and will be donating produce to local shelters. It’s a delight to have them and the school kids participating.”
Betsy Daniel, an Edison School gardener, believes the policy is “a simple, fast, easy way to make sure school campuses are safe. Why would we object to spending a minute to fill out a simple form in order to better protect our children?”
There were some factual inaccuracies in the article, however: The total number of gardeners subject to the background check policy is likely to be half the number reported and thus half the cost to DPS. Most important, for the 2010 growing season, gardeners do not have to stop gardening until the background checks are completed, but may continue gardening during the process.
Michael Buchenau is executive director of Denver Urban Gardens. Happy Haynes is chief community engagement officer for Denver Public Schools.
