100 Straw Bale Garden Experiment to Feed Our School!
Help me give my students organic fertlizer to complete a 100 straw bale garden on our 2 acre school/community garden that feeds our community through our farm to table culinary arts program!
FULLY FUNDED! Mrs. Ware's classroom raised $3,179
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Project
Our students run a free 2 acre school / community garden on the west side of Chicago on our vocational school's north property. They build the structures and learn about urban farming. We want to replicate an innovative and educational project that was implemented in the summer of 2023 because of its remarkable success in increasing our overall vegetable yields for our culinary arts program. This involves a 100 straw bale garden. This large scale soil improvement will increase the yield of our shared FREE community vegetable beds and benefit us directly through larger harvests, as was demonstrated in 2023. Essentially, this is composting in-situ with absolutely no land disturbance (everything is added to the top of the land) and the straw provides a high quality, slowly decomposing carbon input that will improve the fungal to bacterial ratio of soil microorganisms and ultimately increase the biodiversity, water holding capacity and productivity of the 2 acre ecosystem. Our students learn about nutrition, self sufficiency, ecosystem health and biodiversity
This grant will allow us to continue to improve the soil health, our students' physical and mental health and the health of their self-sufficient community garden in sustainable, organic ways that will last a lifetime as they share their expertise with each other and their families.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
Down To Earth All Natural Fertilizers Organic Multi Purpose Mix 4-6-2, 5 lb
• Amazon Business
$21.55
100
$2,155.00
Down To Earth All Natural Fertilizers Blood Meal Mix 12-0-0, 0.5 lb
• Amazon Business
$8.99
50
$449.50
Jack's Classic Nutrients 15-0-0 Part B Calcium Nitrate Water-Soluble Fertilizer for Calcium Uptake and Strong Leaf Growth in Continuous Liquid Feed Programs, 2.2Lbs
• Amazon Business
$27.49
1
$27.49
Materials cost
$2,631.99
Vendor shipping charges
FREE
Sales tax
$0.00
3rd party payment processing fee
$39.48
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$2,701.47
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$476.73
Total project goal
$3,178.20
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$3,178.20
10 Donors
-$1,779.24
Donations toward project cost
-$1,516.35
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
-$262.89
Matching donations from our partners
-$1,394.26
Match offers toward project cost
-$1,185.12
Match offers to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Ware and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
