WEST ORANGE, NJ -  Science classes at Edison Middle School celebrated Earth Day on April 28, prepping their community gardens for the summer crops that will soon be planted.

Each year, the students help clean out the gardens during spring and autumn. Enthusiastic students from the Roosevelt Middle School Environmental Club were also on hand to mulch, weed, and clean out the areas following a chilly winter.

The community garden was the brainchild of former science teacher Martha Smalley. Her goal was to inspire a love of science and the environment through gardening. To sustain the project, Edison formed a partnership with the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges, who applied for grant monies for garden necessities like a shed and greenhouse. They received grants from Whole Foods and Bank of America for those projects.

The Edison Environmental club regularly meets in the gardens and takes on projects that help the environment, along with William Fatica, their advisor. STEM lessons are also a regular part of the gardens' functions.

In addition to preparing and repairing the gardens for the summer, students also planted bee-friendly pollinator flowers. Each garden contains a mix of flowers, vegetables, and herbs, and during the summer, neighborhood gardeners receive their own bed to grow vegetables. 

RMS students

RMS students

Students collect gloves and tools to work in the gardens

Students weed pollinator beds