Rochester Montessori School's Middle School Students Impact City Chicken Ordinance

The following was written by RMS' 7th grade students in late February 2012:

"It is Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 7:00pm. The meeting of Rochester, MN City Council Members has begun. Here at the Government Center in Rochester, MN, City Council President Dennis Hanson and City Council Members Ed Hruska, Michael Wojcik, Bruce Snyder, Mark Bilderback, Randy Staver, and Sandra Means gather approximately every two weeks. Today, they will be discussing a very different topic: whether our school, Rochester Montessori School, can have 12 chickens (all hens), or not for our egg production business.

The RMS Middle School started the variance process when we decided that 3 hens wasn't a good business model, so we agreed to apply for 12 hens. We also decided that we would need a bigger coop to hold the hens. First, we composed and hand-delivered a letter to all of our school's neighbors, which is everyone whose property is directly adjoint to the school, asking for their permission for an increase in the number of hens and a larger coop. We received a letter back describing one person's compromised health. This person's concern helped verify our final decision of the coop's placement. For that reason, we sent out a second letter to each of our neighbors, stating where the coop will be, which is far away from any of their properties. Having gained the support of the majority of our neighbors, we applied for a variance with the Rochester City Council, and provided them all of the original letters received back from RMS' neighbors.

So, we sit waiting for our topic to come up. After a full half hour, our patience is complemented as the City Council President speaks of an amendment for“Rochester City Ordinance 113A – Chickens – for the Rochester Montessori School.” Hey - what's this about? We applied for a variance, not an amendment to the ordinance. As it turns out, variances are only for land use ordinances to which this situation does not apply, so instead an amendment must be made. Following quick discussion involving the educational benefits of hens and in relation to our RMS Middle School business, the council voted 7-0 in favor of the amendment! So, on top of having our request approved, we have changed a city ordinance. Now any educational premises in Rochester, Minnesota can have up to 12 hens! The ordinance will be officially amended during the first April 2012 Rochester City Council meeting (Monday, April 16th, 2012)."

Welcome to Circle of Life Gardens

Erd -what? Throughout the 2011-2012 school year, Rochester Montessori School's (RMS) middle school program has been in the process of developing a business, as part of its Montessori Erdkinder (which literally means "children of the Earth") curriculum. Dr. Maria Montessori, an avid supporter of Environmental Education, was ahead of her time: growing research in the field of Environmental Education stresses how imperative EE is in order to develop the whole person. As demonstrated at RMS and other Montessori middle school programs around the world, Erdkinder is a vital component of the adolescent experience within a Montessori middle school program.

The beginning of our business, Circle of Life Gardens, involved a series of educational experiences and repeated interactions within our local Rochester, MN, and surrounding communities: in the fall and spring we went to Cedar Valley Farm outside of Lanesboro; in the winter we toured two urban chicken coops in Rochester; and, we also repeatedly reached out to RMS' neighboring properties and Rochester City Council members as we pursued our chicken coop and run application and variance processes. 

On February 22nd, 2012, the RMS middle school students achieved an exciting new development, and one that has laid the groundwork for other Rochester, MN, educational facilities interested in raising chickens! (Read post entitled, "Rochester Montessori School's Middle School Students Impact City Chicken Ordinance.")

In late February 2012, our middle school students and teachers brainstormed a series of names for our business, taking into account place-based naming of a business involving egg production and vegetable garden produce within a Montessori school. We created ballots for our upper elementary colleagues and school staff members to utilize over the period of a week in order to vote on a name. The ballot had 7 choices, and voters were asked to rank their top 3 choices. On March 6th, 2012, "Circle of Life Gardens" emerged.

Around this same time, the RMS middle school program was awarded grant monies from “Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom” for chicken coop and run materials. We have also been offered a generous donation of coop and run construction materials from Rochester's Kruse Lumber.

In late March 2012, we welcomed a new parent volunteer and design architect to Circle of Life Gardens. He has since led two workshops with all middle year program (6th and 7th grade) students involving architecture and final chicken coop and run design elements. Beginning in late fall 2011, our 7th grade students tracked weather patterns (sun, wind, temperature) in a few strategic coop and run location possibilities; bringing this data to the workshop, we decided as a large group where to place the coop and run, as well as what overall design elements we would like for the Circle of Life Gardens chicken coop and run. The 7th grade students and teachers have since met with our design architect to make final orientation and coop/run specs decisions. Throughout the last two weeks of April into early May 2012, our parent volunteer design architect will help lead our 6th and 7th grade students in the building of the Circle of Life Gardens' chicken coop and run.

The week of April 9th, 2012, Circle of Life Gardens planted four trays of indoor seedlings for our garden, which will begin to take shape summer 2012: parma onions, kale, yellow pear tomatoes, heirloom brandywine tomatoes, red chili peppers, and broccoli. The kale has already sprouted!

Circle of Life Gardens' standards

Peep, Peep, Peep!!! Early evening April 12, 2012, the Circle of Life Gardens entrepreneurs (7th grade students and teachers) finally picked up our highly anticipated standard chicks from Rochester Feed and Country Store! These include three hens of each of the following breeds: Rhode Island Red, Black Australorp, and Silver-Laced Wyandotte. We received a lesson on how to handle the chicks, as well as what daily care is necessary in order to keep the chicks comfortable and healthy in their indoor brooder box. The chicks will need to stay in our classroom for about six weeks. In late May, we will receive a small group of Silver Sebright bantam hens. We will raise these chicks in a separate brooder box, and then introduce them to the rest of the Circle of Life Gardens flock when they are fully grown. As approved by the City of Rochester, Circle of Life Gardens will have a flock of 12 hens for our egg production business.

Silver-Laced Wyandotte chick

Circle of Life Gardens has developed a logo with the help of our 7th grade students (see below). Both 7th grade students have developed chicken breed and interpretive panels on behalf of Circle of Life Gardens for the RMS lobby (please come and check them out, as well as the students' experience panels!). Middle School staff have developed an Erdkinder and Circle of Life Gardens hand out, which is available as part of this display; it will be made available through the RMS Middle School web site soon.

We look forward to keeping you up to date here regarding our growing chicks, coop and run building, and garden development! Circle of Life Gardens egg and vegetable sales will begin summer 2012.

Please feel free to contact the Circle of Life Gardens staff at: 

gardens@rmschool.org

Rhode Island Red chicks learning how to eat starter feed

Teaching a Rhode Island Red chick how to drink water

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