Homestead Harvest for the Rainforest
Over (1500) giant lagenaria gourds were harvested on November 21, 2005 by Homestead School students in the kindergarten through third grade classes. Planted last spring, the gourds will be fashioned into colorful birdhouses and sold as a fundraiser for rainforest preservation in Costa Rica.
The anticipated $5000 in birdhouse sales will bring Homestead’s total contributions to more than $73,000 in twelve years of conservation efforts by the students.
The soil in the gourd field is already being cultivated to receive a potato crop next spring. With a projected yield of 10,000 pounds, the crop will be sold to raise funds for the Lumberland Fire Department’s ambulance corps, winner of the EMT Unit of the Year Award. In doing so, the students will be honoring “one of their own”, Homestead teacher and EMT, Ann Steimle.
Agricultural projects at the Homestead School are a frequent activity with past crops of potatoes benefiting Sullivan County Prasad’s Children’s Dental Health Program and former Mercy Hospital’s community health clinic in Port Jervis. Community service is one lesson among many for the students of the Homestead.
