New Orleans teenager working to build an accessible garden at the Magnolia School
"All the clients were so friendly and excited to tell me about the projects they were working on," she said. "When I got there and talked to them, that's when my garden idea started coming together."
The Magnolia School, a private nonprofit organization serving adults with developmental disabilities, sits on 11 acres at the corner of River Road and Central Avenue in Jefferson. It was begun 76 years ago by a local pediatrician after he discovered there was no place that met the needs of his developmentally-disabled son. Now, it meets the needs of more than 230 clients and operates 19 group homes as well.
"It's really an amazing place," Langenstein, 17, said.
Her idea for an accessible raised-bed garden began last year with a question she asked Bris Campbell, the executive director of Magnolia and a close family friend.
Langenstein, who will be a senior at Isidore Newman School, had worked as a camp counselor at St. Michael's Special School in New Orleans, and she was so taken with the special needs children there she wanted to do some kind of community service project for the adults at Magnolia. She asked Campbell how she could help.
"We walked around together, and the garden is what struck her," Campbell said.
They looked at the raised beds near the greenhouse and talked about an expanded garden with walkways and flowers and a picket fence, one that could be both workplace and haven.
"I admit I'm not much of a gardener, but the idea appealed to me," Langenstein said.
Laney Langenstein, center is surrounded by residents, left to right: Britt Kennedy, Troy Laurent, Joan Rasch and Justin McCoy of Magnolia School as she walks with them though their gardening center and greenhouse, Wednesday, June 8, 2011. Langenstein, 16, is raising $20,000 to provide an accessible raised bed garden for adults with developmental disabilities at Magnolia School. They have a garden now but it isn't accessible for the people in wheelchairs and who need walkers. They use the garden for some of the products they sell.Then they decided it should be a raised garden that was accessible to all the clients, including the 34 who use wheelchairs, walkers and canes to get around.
"We always wanted it to be accessible, but we knew it would be expensive when we started talking about concrete walking paths," Campbell said.
When they consulted with Magnolia's plant manager about specifics and made a plan, they came up with an estimated cost of $20,000 for a new and improved garden.
Building Raised Beds - News
They looked at the raised beds near the greenhouse and talked about an expanded garden with walkways and flowers and a picket fence, one that could be both workplace and haven. "I admit I'm not much of a gardener, but the idea appealed to me,"
A partnership was formed in January and has worked through the Healthy Communities Coalition of Cowley County to plan and implement the building of community gardens including the raised bed gardens.
Tips from a local gardening pro, building a raised bed with salvaged wood, and where to score some quality soil in the third installment of this series on urban gardening. By Greg Armstrong | Email the author | 11:30am David Grefath in the garden he
You build them up like Lego. Making sure that all the raised beds are level is of crucial importance. Once created they are lined with plastic membrane which you burst at the base with plenty of holes and incorporate some shingle for drainage.
JT Miller, 15, who just finished eighth grade, helped improve Lerner Park and build the raised beds for the hoop house. While he is moving on to high school, he said his younger sister will benefit from the greenhouse in middle school.
Better Farm: Building a Better (Raised) Bed
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Building Raised Garden Beds for Organic Gardening with Vegetables, Flowers and Herbs 
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