Circle of Life Gardens: 2012

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Raise the Roof

This final Circle of Life Gardens 2011-2012 entry summarizes parts and pieces of the chicken coop & run building processes. This process involved the students and their teachers in rigorous, practical, hands-on application of research and design elements throughout the last month of school, augmented through a repeated partnership with volunteer design architects from

Rochester's Design Advocacy Forum.

Please check out a related tribute entitled, "Coop Dreams"

by architect Adam Ferrari here:

http://www.designadvocacyforum.org/posts/151

Above and below: 7th grade students and Ethan construct "skiis"

for the coop & run's initial scaffolding.

Below: securing the first of three pieces of scaffolding.

Below: placing the crossbeam onto the scaffolding.

This crossbeam, along with the coop's siding, is reclaimed untreated cedar.

Below: the 7th grade students' interpretive chicken breeds & experience panels on display in the front lobby at school. Also included: the Circle of Life Gardens (COLG) logo, and a handout created by Ethan and Emily on behalf of the Erdkinder Curriculum and Circle of Life Gardens business

we developed, funded, and implemented for the middle school program

at Rochester Montessori School.

Below: it took patience and team work

to wrap heavy duty chicken wire around the run!

Below: securing heavy duty wire from within the run.

Below: 6th grade students joined us for a morning, and were a great help!

Ethan and Emily finish securing the heavy duty wire across the top.

Below: we all assist in securing the chicken wire at least one foot outward from the base of the entire coop and run, before covering it with sod.

This will aid in predator control.

Below: (left) the completed sided coop, (right) ramp into the sided coop.

Above: 7th grade students paint the coop door

on their last day of school :)

This white panel became the signature panel

for the 7th grade students, Ethan, and Emily.

Below: On June 8th, 2012, student and teacher volunteers completed the

Circle of Life Gardens logo and painting on the outside of the coop.

Below: A look into the coop from the coop door,

into the run,

and through the run door.

What will the future hold for Rochester Montessori School's

middle school students
and their Circle of Life Gardens business?

Through our Erdkinder curriculum, we provided a sense of place, ownership, and responsibility, or in other words, an in-depth introduction

to environmental education.

On behalf of the 7th grade students, we witnessed an incredible demonstration of critical thinking skills, determination, and follow-through when it came to the long-term goals of each project involved in the development and implementation of Circle of Life Gardens.

For this and for the support of our students and their families, volunteers,

and the enthusiasm and attention given to the chickens and garden by the Circle of Life Gardens' soon-to-be 7th grade students, we are filled with gratitude.

- Ethan & Emily

Avian Affection

This entry is a photo montage of our standard chickens, weeks 4-7,

as well as our newest additions to the flock, Silver Sebright bantams.

Below: We Are 4 Weeks Old!

At 4 weeks of age, the standards started to become more confident in their perching abilities :)

And at 4 weeks of age, the standards outgrew our 300 gram capacity scales!

Below: We Are 5 Weeks Old!

At 5 weeks of age,

the standards had absolutely no problem perching or investigating :)

Here I am with two of our three Rhode Island Reds at 5 weeks of age.

At around 6 weeks of age,

the standards started to fly around their classroom enclosure.

Below: We Are 7 Weeks Old, and ready to go outside!

Friday, June 1st, 2012:

6th and 7th grade students release the standards into their new outdoor home!

All smiles inside the run :)

Welcome Home!

A toddler enjoys watching the standards investigate their new home during the annual school picnic.

Below: Ethan next to the standards inside their fully enclosed run.

The coop is closed off, and will be finished within the next week.

The following week, all nine of the standards

were banded with a plastic leg band.

Below: on May 23rd, we welcomed a little group of 2-day-old

Silver Sebright bantam chicks to Circle of Life Gardens!

Welcome Home!

Below: a student holds five Silver Sebright bantam chicks at one time...

they are literally half the weight

of what the standard chicks weighed at their age!

When fully grown,

the bantams will be approximately half the size of the standards.

Introducing: Victoria, Lady Joanna, Willa, Temperance, and Claudius Lauden (who passed away).

Below: We Are One Week Old! (And very sleepy!)

Below: One Week Old Silver Sebright bantams

Below: the day after I took the above photo, we added one more chick to the flock,

who we named Green Bean after the green mineral marking on her leg.

Two days following Green Bean's arrival, we delivered Willa and Temperance

to a farmer friend as a thank you for her mentorship throughout the year.

We had to order a minimum of 5 guaranteed female Silver Sebright bantams.

Circle of Life Gardens is permitted 12 hens.

Green Bean, Victoria, and Lady Joanna will join the nine standards outside in early July 2012.

They will each receive a plastic leg band.

Here's to our avian pioneers!

Inch by Inch, Row by Row

This entry is a photo montage of the beginning of Circle of Life Gardens'

vegetable garden and raspberry patch.

Above, in mid-May 2012, the garden was freshly tilled.

Below, we begin to hoe, weed, and seed our first row of vegetables: radishes.

A few days later, the radishes begin to sprout!

Two weeks later, the radishes have grown this much:

Below: time to transfer the tomatoes, onions, and peppers from the greenhouse to the garden.

Below: each orange flag represents a newly planted raspberry bush.

Each raspberry bush is planted a few feet away from one another,

with enough space in between each row to walk.

Wood chips surround each bush.

Below: bifurcated raspberry bush beginning to take shape!

Below: squash after two weeks, grown from seed.

Below: potato, grown from seed potatoes.

Circle of Life Gardens, here's to a prosperous future!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Week 7 & Counting ...

Greetings! Due to recent events at school, we have not been able to provide consistent updates for the Circle of Life Gardens blog. Likewise, our time together has been heartily focused on building our coop and run, taking care of our new Silver Sebright Bantam chicks, and tending to our young vegetable and fruit garden plots. We appreciate your patience! Photos will be added soon.

Weeks 4, 5, 6, and now 7 for our flock of standard hens progressed quickly! They are now fully grown chickens ready for the outdoors! (They will start to lay eggs beginning in July 2012.)

The bantam hens are now 1 week old, and are steadily growing into their primary flight feathers.

Outside, we transferred tomatoes from the greenhouse into the ground. In our main plot, we have sprouting garlic, lettuce, lettuce, squash, and the raspberry bushes have begun to bifurcate. In addition, we have planted rows of carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, and swiss chard that are preparing to surface.

We are so thankful for the tremendous assistance of our small group of architect volunteers; taking on the rookie building of an 8' by 20' chicken coop and run involves around 25-30 hours of skilled work.

Again, newer photos will be added soon. In the meantime, please check out the May 16th, 2012 issue of the Olmsted County Journal. This project, including its teachers and students, were featured beginning in a front page article that continues on pages 8 and 9. Thank you!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Week 3 (4/26/12 - 5/3/12)

What Am I?
On Friday, April 27th, our chicks received a new home!

We figured that the chicks were ready for a larger home, because a few days prior, one of the Wyandottes perched on the edge of their initial brooder box with no assistance!

At 3 weeks of age, the chicks are no longer in need of their heat lamp.

And when picked up, most of the 3-week old chicks have begun to walk along our arms! (Some of them prefer to perch on our fingers, while others just prefer to balance in the open.)

... A 118-gallon feed tank!
This tank will later be used as a cooling bath for freshly picked garden produce.

Investigating our new home, including new food and water feeders!

These feeders are elevated a bit (on top of bricks) in order to reduce the amount of shavings that otherwise clog the feeders due to scratching and dust bathing.