Manteo Elementary School

For the fifth consecutive year, members of the Roanoke Island Garden Club visited Manteo Elementary School second grade classes in April to supplement their unit on the life cycle of a plant. Second grade teacher Lisa Earley explained that they 'induct' all students into the Dare Diggers Junior Garden Club. "Their program involves the reading of a plant book, helping students locate the various parts of the plant using a bean that has been soaked in water, and supplying seeds that our students use to plant their own green bean plants in class," described Earley. "They also bring plant journals for students to use for documenting their plant's growth."

Roanoke Island Garden Club Co-chair, Joan Phillips, explained that the lesson included a reading of The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller; dissecting and labeling seeds; and planting of seeds for monitored growth. "Each student planted three seeds which they will observe and document throughout the life cycle in journals presented by the garden club. In May, the Dare Digger students will have a field trip to The Elizabethan Gardens where RIGC members will conduct a variety of educational workshops."

Phillips co-chairs RIGC with Barbara Sibunka; together with members Lou Overman, Karen Phillips, Barbara St. Amand, and Joanne Williams, they presented the lessons to all second grade students at Manteo Elementary School. The Dare Diggers project is funded by the RIGC.

"The Dare Diggers program is an integral part of our annual activities that carry out the Roanoke Island Garden Club's objective to stimulate interest in the knowledge of varied forms of gardening and plant life," said Phillips."It has always been a wonderful time"

MES second grade teacher Lisa Earley guides students as they work on finding and labeling the parts of a seed in an enrichment opportunity provided by the Roanoke Island Garden Club in April.

MES second graders Sophia Farrow and Zion White with their green bean seeds supplied by the Roanoke Island Garden Club as part of RIGC Junior Garden Club "Dune Diggers" outreach. RIGC Co-chair Joan Phillips read Ruth Heller's The Reason for a Flower to Sophia and Zion's classmates in Lisa Earley's class about the life cycle of a plant.

Earley says they look forward to this program every year. "The students learn so much about life cycles with the creative hands-on lessons the Garden Club prepares."