Who We Are
Mission: To educate the whole child and community through hands-on learning that promotes environmental stewardship, character development, and healthy lifestyles.
The Herring Peace Garden is an integral part of Lucy S. Herring Elementary School, a PreK- 5 public elementary school with a magnet theme of Ecology in the city of Asheville. The Herring Peace Garden was created by a dedicated group of parents, teachers and students in 1999 and continues to grow with all of the hard work and love of this dedicated community. It is supported by grants, fundraisers, and partnerships with local organizations.
Lucy Herring Elementary partners with Bountiful Cities, a local nonprofit focused on urban agriculture and food justice, to maintain the Peace Garden and provide free cooking and garden programming through its FEAST program. FEAST provides classes to all students at Lucy S. Herring Elementary focused on growing and preparing healthy, fresh food while integrating school subjects and state standards.
What We Do
The Herring Peace Garden provides opportunities for children in every grade level to learn and participate by tending to and harvesting from their own plots. Different gardening designs, methods, and skills, as well as the science of gardening and ecology, are integrated throughout the curriculum. Herring Elementary’s magnet theme of Ecology is carried out daily through this program. Vance Peace Garden programs focusing on experiences and education and benefiting children and families include:
- Gardening: Seasonal vegetables and perennial herbs and fruits grown with organic, pesticide-free gardening practices.
- FEAST Classes: Gardening and cooking lessons for each classroom, after-school enrichment classes, community workdays, potlucks, and workshops.
- Garden Projects: Planning and construction of an earthen cob-style shed with a rainwater catchment system, a high tunnel greenhouse, a pizza oven, and composting bins.
- Sharing the harvest: Produce grown in the garden and harvested by students, used in FEAST classes, and shared with families during the school year, and during the summer months, shared with neighbors, volunteers, and families who help maintain the garden.
