Hands-on learning with the Vegetable Project

Three students use their hands to mix water and potting soil

Bill Stoneman knows that first-graders instinctively like to get their hands dirty. And on Tuesday, he, volunteers from his nonprofit the Vegetable Project, and students in Kimberly Palella’s New Scotland Elementary School class were gleefully up to their elbows in dirt as they made mini-greenhouses out of plastic milk jugs.

Students mixed water with potting soil, used an electric drill to put drainage holes in the milk jug, filled the jugs with soil and planted seeds of cold-tolerant herbs, veggies and flowers. Every student made their own mini-greenhouse; all will be placed outside school.

Take a look at a Facebook photo album from the fun. (You don't need a Facebook account to see the photos linked in the highlighted text above). A window may appear that says, "To see more from Albany City Schools on Facebook, log on or create an account,” but you can dismiss it by clicking “not now.”)

Palella’s first-graders are among some 750 district students who are taking part in the mini-greenhouse project under the direction of the Vegetable Project.