This article appeared as "Farm Hands" in the Fall 2024 issue of Independent School.
There are programs that grow, and there are programs that grow.
Both can be said for the urban agriculture program at the Paideia School (GA), which takes place on the two-acre Pi Farm located in East Atlanta on the grounds of Atlanta Mennonite Church. What started in 2010 as a few raised beds on the main campus for science teachers to create experiential learning opportunities for elementary students now includes a dedicated program for K–12 students to explore urban agriculture, including farming, cooking and nutrition, and sustainability, as well as maintaining a farm that serves the Atlanta community.
In summer 2023, 40 high school students, four student apprentices, the Urban Ag director, farm manager, and farm assistant harvested the farm’s record amount of produce in nine weeks: 4,000 pounds, almost half of what was produced in the entire year and an increase from 1,200 pounds the previous year.
Throughout the 2023 growing season, the school farm donated 6,500 pounds of produce to community organizations that work with neighbors experiencing food insecurity. Pi Farm also provided about 2,500 pounds to the school’s 23 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes, which were initially created to help families affected by job loss during the pandemic.
The farm will continue its work in the 2024–2025 school year, which will include a new high school club that does horticulture therapy with local senior citizens.