CANTON – Some students at Banford Elementary now have green thumbs.

Students in Canton school teacher Autumn McCarthy’s class learned about plants, and what better way than hands-on learning.

“We started with a small garden located behind the Banford playground in the spring of 2017,” said McCarthy.

In 2019 the school received a $350 grant from the Canton Community Fund to build raised beds, purchase new soil and a garden cart.

“Every spring we do a unit about plants, which culminates with the kids starting seeds that will later be planted in our garden,” she said.

Students typically plant tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro, potatoes, carrots and pumpkins.

“We never have much luck with the pumpkins,” she said.

Although the harvest is the goal, the journey is what makes it fun.

“The kids really look forward to our spring garden chores and are so excited when they get back in September to see what we grew,” McCarthy said.

Each fall, following harvest, the class makes salsa and vegetable soup.