Today The Ponic Project spoke with Adam Zmick, one of the founders of The Gardeneers

We visited one of their school gardens at John M Smyth Elementary School.

Lots of hard work goes into community gardens. Schools and teachers rely heavily on volunteers to keep community based centers like this running!

The kids and teachers all seem to love being in the garden and if it were up to them- would be spending a lot more time outside in the garden. All of the seating areas and art also make the space a great place to retreat to enjoy the fresh air. Community gardens in schools also positively contribute to the teachers and students overall morale and mental health, which is a major plus especially for Chicago where we don’t invest in mental healthcare enough!

This particular school garden grew various vegetables and fruits: onions, lettuce, asparagus, radish, apples, and many more! They have a compost setup that is used to improve the soil fertility in gardens. Bee hives are also very active in the summer, and are a wonderful learning tool for the community to observe as well. The Ponic Project can't wait to collaborate with the Gardeneers and continue to beautify and educate our communities.