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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: Make code neutral ... Donors sought as field project deadline looms ... Jordan Cove LNG project gets final environmental approval ... Our View: Make code neutral ... Donors sought as field project deadline looms ... Jordan Cove LNG project gets final environmental approval ... BELLVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Hands-on lessons about art, food and teamwork Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Feb. 20, 2015 at 7:27 PM Updated Feb 21, 2015 at 3:21 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Feb. 20, 2015 at 7:27 PM Updated Feb 21, 2015 at 3:21 PM » RELATED CONTENT What do you think? --> Have an opinion on this story? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter  » Read more X What do you think? Have an opinion on this story? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter   • It's alive! • Chickenpox in rear-view mirror? • Ashland: Lions Club steps up for vision tests » Social News Bellview Elementary School in Ashland was given a lovely garden six years ago — a place for kids to learn to grow and nibble tasty veggies all year — but they needed a nice pathway through it, not just dirt. Just as the garden, veggie beds, greenhouse and gazebo were the gift of Ford Leadership Foundation and Master Gardeners, the new artsy, tiled path, made by kinders and third graders, is the gift of Home Depot staff, who are donating foot-square concrete pads, grout, instruction and labor. The art room was all a-babble Friday with eager kids drawing designs on paper, then arranging them in grout with glass pebbles donated by Craft Warehouse in Medford. Parents were invited to bring in broken plates, cast off jewelry — and one even broke up a disco ball. Their eyes popped open as Chelsea Gilmore, a Food Corp. service worker, told them, “These designs you’re making and this pathway will be out there in the garden FOREVER!” Suns, mountains, houses, play games and lots of abstract designs grew to life as Gilmore, out by the kid-infested garden, explained, “Applied learning like this is really important for the children. They need to see things happen. They’re checking out the garlic, onions and shallots we planted last fall and are now starting to grow. They’re learning skills for a lifetime, about life cycles, ecology, leadership, teamwork.” Reading specialist Rebecca Gyarmathy, who is participating in the project, says, “I’m so passionate because gardening and such projects reach beyond all the Common Core subjects that focus on science and math. This is their time to work and play hard and apply the science, math and art they learn inside. I really appreciate this space where learning happens in very different ways.” In the summer, when kids are gone, the garden is overflowing with food, she notes, and low-income families are invited to come and tend it and take home food for dinner. “In addition to the hands-on learning,” says Gyarmathy, “all this helps us reach out to and involve the community.” On March 11, a volunteer from Dunbar Farm of Medford will come to teach seed planting and direct the process. The tiles will be set during an Earth Day work party on April 22. Reach Ashland freelance writer John Darling at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Feb. 20, 2015 at 7:27 PM Updated Feb 21, 2015 at 3:21 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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