Class Members Plant Seeds of Health for Southern Maryland Kids

Several local sponsors have partnered with Leadership Southern Maryland (LSM) to help launch a new initiative called “Get Moving, Get Growing” in two local public schools. The goal of the program is to raise awareness among children about the importance of their health by establishing community gardens and fitness clubs within the Southern Maryland school systems.

Get Moving, Get Growing (GMGG) will be a collaborative effort between children, their families, school staff, community volunteers and LSM volunteers.

Working with a master gardener, students have the opportunity to plan, plant and cultivate their own community gardens. LSM will provide opportunities for the produce to be used for school fundraisers or donated to community organizations to instill a sense of pride and giving back to the community among participants.

The program will incorporate the University of Maryland’s Growing Healthy Habits curriculum to focus on the importance of nutrition and personal wellness. A fitness dimension of the program will establish a school fitness club that will hold weekly meetings and offer children the opportunity to exercise with volunteers in a fun, supportive environment. 

Major sponsors include Community Wealth Advisors, Zenetex, AVIAN, KAIROS, INC., The Greenery Nursery and Landscaping Center and Hatcher’s Feed & Farm Supply.  These companies join with various parent-teacher organizations and other individual donors to help make the program possible. 

“One of the best things that we can do for the upcoming generation is to help educate children about the importance of personal health and wellness,” said Anna Fagan, a member of GMGG LSM group. “Get Moving, Get Growing empowers students to make smart health decisions and instills that sense of pride and ownership that comes from seeing a project through from start to finish.”

The program has kicked off at Plum Point Elementary in Huntingtown at the end of March, and will run through the end of the school year. It is initially open to the school’s fourth- and fifth-grade classes, with plans to expand to other grade levels in the future. The school garden program is paired with its existing running club.

Leonardtown Elementary School began its running club in January and has started planting its garden. The running club has more than 90 participants and the garden will be a joint effort between kindergarten and fifth grade. “Ultimately we would love to see gardens and running clubs in every school in Southern Maryland,” said fellow GMGG group member Julie Lemmon. “We would like to see a few new schools take part each year.”

The group also provides guest speakers to the elementary schools to talk about exercise and nutrition. Dr. Rick Hageman, a local physical therapist and Leonardtown High School cross country coach, is visiting Leonardtown Elementary this week to talk about injury prevention and ways to increase endurance. Dr. Mia Finkelston will speak to the students later this month about wellness and choosing healthy snacks and drinks for energy and performance. Horticulture students at the James A. Forrest Technology Center, along with their teacher Ed Carney, built and installed the three raised garden beds at Leonardtown Elementary.

Members of the LSM Get Moving Get Growing team are Steven Bishop, Smartonix Inc.; Rose Crunkelton, Attorney at Law; Hartmuth Csanadi-Schwartz, The Arc of Southern MD Inc.; Anna Fagan, Community Wealth Advisors; Laura Kamosa, Zenetex; Christa Kuhl, PSI Pax, Inc.; Julie Lemmon, AVIAN Engineering LLC; Carrie Lovejoy, Calvert County Government; and Scott Reeves, KAIROS, INC.

Contact any of the team members if you'd like to get involved.