Holy Name of Jesus students get their hands dirty in Loyola’s sky garden

by Kim Roberts

By Kim Roberts
Kids' Clarion

As part of a gardening elective class, 22 middle school students from Holy Name of Jesus School in New Orleans took a field trip on Sept. 19 to Loyola University’s Azby Greenhouse, located on the rooftop of Monroe Hall.

Students toured the greenhouse, learned about sub-tropical species and planted seeds that they’ll transplant into Loyola’s raised garden beds on campus at a later date.

“It was great to learn the proper way to plant seeds, and I really like getting my hands dirty,” said middle-school student Georgia Hamilton.

The Loyola program coordinator, Mark Tobler, and university graduate students gave the Holy Name students tours of the 3,000-square-foot greenhouse.

“They were shown how to plant seeds and planted their own – mainly leafy greens since it’s the time of year for it,” said Andrea Dewenter, Holy Name’s gardening elective teacher.

Holy Name assistant principal Kaitlin Southwick said Holy Name offers a variety of electives for middle-school students. This trimester, Holy Name offered a gardening elective, and the field trip to Loyola’s rooftop garden was set up in consultation with the university.

“It’s really nice since we are so close to Loyola that we can schedule these types of field trips,” Southwick said. “We started talking in 2021 with (Tania Tetlow), the president at the time of Loyola, about how we have so many resources in common and how we should join forces and share those resources. It’s been a really great experience, and it’s just kind of built upon itself, year after year. We keep adding on new things to do together.”

Southwick said her students like having that experience on the college campus and also being able to get outside of their classroom to have different experiences, which they might not have in other schools.

“This has been a great partnership with Loyola,” she said.

Students have been equally impressed.

“It was amazing to be up on top of the building like that, and there were some plants I’d never seen before,” said middle-school student Charley Jarreau.

Holy Name of Jesus had first-grade students visit the greenhouse last year, and another group of middle school students toured the facility the year before.

“I really liked seeing the different kinds of plants in the greenhouse, and smelling all the different things, too,” said middle-school student Katie Swanson.

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