Dexter High School Memorial Garden Project Underway

The planting of a new garden that will feature locally grown produce from students at Dexter High School will take place on Saturday.

The Dexter High School Memorial Learning Garden is the brainchild of resident Lori Sullivan, whose husband Kevin, died in 2010.

"Kevin was a gardener and he did a lot of cooking and canning at home," Sullivan said. "He was a big advocate for nutrition. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he became a straight vegan because he felt that not eating well contributed to the propensity for disease."

She said doctors diagnosed her husband with stage four cancer and expected him to live only four months.

"He lived 11 months and I and I believe his diet played a role in that," Sullivan said.

With funds donated in her husband's name, Sullivan said she and her children wanted to do something for the community.

"The kids discussed what projects would make him proud and we ultimately decided on a garden because Dexter High School currently doesn't have a garden and our youngest daughter will be a freshman there next fall," she said. "An important part of being a gardner is teaching kids how to be smarter food consumers and the best place to do that is at the high school level, when teens are really starting to make their own life choices."

Sullivan said the project was an instant hit with Superintendent Mary Marshall, Principal Kit Moran, and teachers Shirley Bitters and Pam Hintalla.

"Shirley and Pam are introducing food science in their classrooms, so the garden can be used to supplement their curriculum," Sullivan said.

On Saturday, volunteers will begin planting six raised garden beds, creating pathways with wood chips and other preliminary planting. The garden itself is being designed by Sandy Hanson, a retired landscaping architect in Dexter.

"The garden is designed to expand in three phases. We'll start now and add more in the fall and spring of next year," Sullivan said.

Parent Cynthia Hodges said she is excited about the garden. Upon hearing of the project, she said her daughter, who is a member of the Dexter Senior Girl Scout Troop 40580, energized fellow scouts to embrace the project and help on Saturday.

She said helping with the garden is a summary of what the girls have learned through a recent environment-themed project. 

"These scouts, who are all freshmen at DHS, heard about the garden and decided to adopt it as their 'Take Action' project to culiminate their yearlong journey," she said.

Hodges said the troop hopes that one day, vegetables in the garden could be used to make salads to serve for lunch in the DHS cafeteria.

Sullivan said produce in the garden will include tomatos, peppers, onions, an herb garden, popcorn and a salsa garden.

"We will also have the senior class officers planet watermelon and cantaloupe, which we will serve to freshmen at their orientation," she said. "We also would like to have one or two beds to raise food for Faith in Action and Food Gatherers as a community service project for students."

Sullivan said the ultimate goal of the garden is to raise food that would be served in the school cafeteria.

"There's a lot of government hoops we have to jump through before we can do that," she said.

Once the garden is planted, it will be up to DHS students and volunteers to maintain it.

"The garden will be a year-round effort, so we're looking for volunteers who can help us in the summer when school is on break," Sullivan said. "We would like nine to 12 students working on the garden during the year through food science classes."

As an added benefit, members of the Selma Cafe in Ann Arbor, have agreed to build a hoop house -a type of green house - near the garden to allow students to work during the colder months. The interior of the hoop house heats up because incoming solar radiation from the sun warms plants, soil, and other things inside the building faster than heat can escape the structure.

"All we have to do is cover the cost of materials, but the volunteers will construct the hoop house," Sullivan said.

To sign up to volunteer on Saturday for a two-hour shift between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., contact Hodges at dhslearninggarden@gmail.com.

A fundraiser for the memorial garden will be held at Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor at 7 p.m. June 10. The farmhouse theme dinner will feature a menu prepared by Chef Alex Young. The cost to attend the fundraiser is $45. To make a reservation, call 734-663-3663.