Gallery • 10 Photos

For the first time, Kearny High School will be having its own garden. With the help of the culinary club & class, Mrs, and Mr. Barone, this garden will grow and remain for generations to come. 

The Joshua Medina Memorial School Garden is located in the courtyard between the New and Old Buildings.  It is made up of 3 raised garden beds, with cold frame lids to extend the growing season.  It also has a 36 square foot greenhouse, self-watering window boxes, multiple rain barrels, and will be integrating composting in the coming school year.  

(short interview with Mr. Barone  ) 

Are there any specific types of plants that will be produced?

There will be a variety of herbs, vegetables, and flowers planted.  As gestation time varies for each plant, it will be a rotating assortment of items grown.  Our initial goal is to utilize these items within the curricula of all cooking classes.

 Mr. Barone also said, “ Our hope is that the garden can grow to become an outdoor classroom for many of the programs within the high school.  It lends itself to experiential learning, regardless of the discipline.  Mrs. Barone has been the driving force in creating the Joshua Medina Memorial School Garden.  She won the Rachel Ray Educational Grant in 2021, has been building the garden with her Culinary Arts students, and was recently named the 2022 New Jersey Farm Bureau Agriculture Teacher of the Year.  With Mrs. Barone at the helm, the future is bright for our school garden.”

Will, there be any plants in classrooms? 

 Yes, Agricultural Literacy is a big part of cooking.  Knowing where your food comes from, and how it grown are essential to understanding how to cook these foods.  Therefore, we will be utilizing a small-scale hydroponic setup in the classrooms where we will be germinating seeds prior to transplanting them into the garden.  Currently, there are radishes, zucchini, and yellow squash sprouted in the window sill of room 122, in between the Hot Lab and Bake Shop. 

We thank all who helped create this garden in which our names will live on forever, as its founders. Our hope is that this garden will continue to grow and become more improved in years to come.  

Note: 

 If anyone is interested in learning more about the garden, or how it can be used across multiple disciplines, they should reach out to a member of the Culinary Arts Department.