THE GARDEN STORY

Retail Construction Services, Inc. is dedicated to giving back.

We give back not only to those in need within our community, but also the future generations of this wonderful community. What started out as a great idea has grown exponentially and became an amazing reality. Here at the RCS Giving Garden, school groups, master gardeners, corporate volunteers, and our own employees work together for the common good of teaching children the art of gardening and the importance of healthy eating. Click Here for Full Story.

LOCATION:
Retail Construction Services, Inc.
11343 39th Street N.
Lake Elmo, MN 55042

From HWY 36 - go south on Lake Elmo Ave, turn left onto 39th Street, garden is at corner of 39th and Laverne.
From HWY 5- going west from Stillwater take right onto Laverne (near Fury dealership) garden is on the right at corner of Laverne and 39th street.

See what else RCS and the Giving Garden are up to:
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The RCS Giving Garden

The RCS Giving Garden

8/14/15

Nature’s Children Live an Imaginary Life

"Nature’s Children live an imaginary life, and creating a place where they can have fun in a very free way can motivate them and expand their horizons." 
- Robin Moore and Herbert H. Wong: Natural Learning: Creating Environments for Discovering
 
Plant a garden, provide opportunity for youth education.  Every child has the right to know where there food comes from, how to grow it, how to store it, and how to cook delicious, nutritious meals.  

It is a pro-active way to help solve hunger, (teach a kid to fish... teach a kid to garden).  It also brings our youth and community to a place of enjoying organic, non-engineered food, and a chance to get outside, get our hands dirty, connect with our world and each other.

A steady dose of fresh produce, along with a healthy exposure to dirt, weeds, worms, bugs, frogs and sunshine is just what every child needs.

Join us - Spread the Word - Plant a garden!
It really is that easy... 
Spread the word - follow our journey - Join us in this movement

- Contributed by Joni Fletty

Garden Scavenger Hunt with the AC/SPIN Kids!

Last Teaching day for the SPIN and Adventure Club Youth
It’s unbelievable to think this was the last day of the 2015 garden season with the Adventure Club and SPIN kids from the Stillwater Area Schools!  We sweltered as we re-visited the season’s lessons and observations with a Garden Scavenger Hunt.  

 They had no trouble finding items such as squash bugs, cucumber leaves with fungal diseases and corn tassles!  We harvested lots of veggies and then collapsed on the picnic tables for our watermelon and a special DQ Dilly Bar treat.  

 A perfect ending to a perfectly hot day!  Thanks for your smiles, enthusiasm and helping hands this year!  Best wishes to all for a wonderful new school year.  See you next season!
A big THANKS goes out to our special visitors Kelsey and Judy as they visited The Giving Garden for the first time!. 

   

We hope you will come back!

 --contributed by Kathy Luoma, Master Gardener

8/10/15

Nature is a Gift of Wonder!

Newly Emerged Monarch!

We witnessed a sight today that some will never see!  I love to find monarch butterfly eggs on my milkweed I have planted around my yard.  I never tire of watching these miniscule eggs hatch into beautiful striped caterpillars who then chomp their way through milkweed leaves until they are quite long and plump.  When these caterpillars make their light green chrysalis’ and then transform into majestic Monarch butterflies, we usually miss the show, but not on Monday!  

I knew I had a butterfly ready to emerge by the way the chrysalis changed from green to black, and I also knew from experience that most monarchs I have raised like to hatch in the late morning.  The monarch took a ride with me to the garden and was under careful watch as we harvested the veggies.  83 pounds of fresh food was picked today!
 There in the middle of the lesson, Ms. Monarch emerged before our very eyes!  It was amazing to watch her pump up her wings with her abdomen juices until she was the size she needed to be to fly!  For awhile, we thought she had a green worm attached to a leg but as time went on the green color “dried” and we determined that it was not a worm or parasite but a smaller, deformed leg.  Her handicap never stopped her!  My favorite quote of the day came from one of the adults because after all, we get just as excited as kids!  She said, “I will remember this my whole life!”  
When the group had all arrived, we met at the picnic table for a lesson on the botanical difference between fruits and vegetables (see last week’s blog for the lesson description).  
          
Watch our video here!
For more information on monarchs and how you too can help increase their declining population, check out this link from Monarch Watch! http://www.monarchwatch.org/

Folks out there who ever wonder what it’s like to teach outdoors?  There is nothing better that the learning that comes from immersing ourselves in a garden surrounded by nature in all of its glory!  

“Butterflies are self-propelled flowers.”  R.H. Heinlein

Contributed by Kathy Luoma, Master Gardener
Assisted by Tricia Jorgenson, Master Gardener, and Victoria B.
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