MQT Growth to plant trees and a community garden at elementary school

A food forest is going to be installed this weekend at a Marquette elementary school to help foster green thumbs in the area.

MQT Growth will be planting trees and a community garden at Vandenboom Elementary School this Saturday.

It’s not the first time MQT Growth has partnered with a Marquette school.  They helped build a hoop house with students from Marquette Alternative High School last year.

The new initiative features garden-based workshops throughout the day, teaching participants about where food comes from and the importance of growing locally.

“If we can get people to start thinking about it now, and kind of learning as they (plants) grow, then we can have a very successful and sustainable community at some point, but right now we’re trying to educate people as much as we can,” MQT Growth vice president Scott Lawrence said.  “We actually had a Kickstarter (Campaign) for this event and raised some money for the trees and bushes and different herbs and all the good stuff we get to grow this Saturday.”

In addition to a Kickstarter Campaign, some materials were donated by the Marquete-Alger Conservation District and other community members.

The food forest will have fruit trees and a community garden.

“It’s kind of fruit trees and then other species of plants that are edible underneath and amongst the trees, and then in the forefront of that will be a community garden space, which will just be raised beds outdoors, so no protection from the elements really but it’ll be a fun, seasonal plot for the community of the Trowbridge area to come out and learn how to grow food, get their hands dirty, and give back,” Lawrence said.

Workshops run from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, and the Food Forest planting is from 4 p.m.-6 p.m.

More information on MQT Growth can be found here.