Planting seeds for the future of her students is a mission that special education teacher Daina Hunt takes quite literally.

The special education classes began planting a garden this past February that will be maintained throughout the year. In hopes of teaching independence and long term dedication, the project’s unveiling will be revealed on March 29.

“I thinks it’s going to be a good lesson in patience, perseverance, and seeing something through,” Hunt said.

Before moving to Argyle, the horticulture club at Hunt’s previous school in Illinois, an organization that focused on garden cultivation and management, worked with her students and taught them how to care for plants. She believes the same experience will benefit students here in Argyle.

After approval from the administration, the class started preparing the project. Along with maintaining the plants, the kids will get to experience more than just gardening.

“The idea is to see from the seed all the way to the table so that these guys can try some new vegetables,” Hunt said. “[The plants] are all organic, so we are trying to be a little healthier.”

Some of the students have already expressed their excitement for the task.

“[I like] the fact that we are planting vegetables and flowers and all sorts of plants,” freshman Emily Heath said. “[We] get to experience the chance to grow flowers and anything of that nature.”

The garden is a unique project for the students. Hunt’s class will maintain eight of the nine garden beds for vegetables, while the life skills class will reserve the last bed for herbs. Hunt wants all students to participate with the garden–even those with wheelchairs– so the area has been paved and the beds have been raised.

“Very often we do things in here that are fifteen minute or thirty minute tasks,” Hunt said. “This is something where we’re going to have to come back to everyday.”

The garden may offer additional opportunities for the class in the future.

“I would eventually like for us to sell the plants and vegetables to other teachers and community members and turn it into a business,” Hunt said. “But right now, I just want to get plants in the dirt, and then we will go from there.”

Above all, Hunt hopes the garden allows students’ education to blossom.

“I want the kids to gain a hobby, a skill set and potentially something that they can carry on as adults,” Hunt said. “That’s part of what this program is all about: making sure these guys are employable so they’ll have solid futures when they leave us after school.”

If you plan on attending the garden reveal on March 29, please contact Diana Hunt.