Inspired by Environmental Education teacher Nelson Lebo's commitment to the cause (he'll ride his bike down to Northfield, MA to visit his parents on a weekend), Proctor's thriving Environmental Action team meets over breakfast on Fridays to plan the week's recycling, composting and future initiatives. Generations of alumni recall scraping food into a "pig bucket" to fatten some local swine. Today, leftovers are separated from fats and meats, destined for one of the campus compost heaps.
Tons of nutrient-rich compost is generated annually, to be applied to a prolific organic garden behind MacKenzie House. The produce from this plantation enhances the salad bar as well as a variety of entrees served up by our talented kitchen staff. This garden cart is weighted down with cherry tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, potatoes, (and a bucketful of coffee grounds heading the other way.)
A team of students manages the garden, but this morning, Truman Fleming--who turns 11 next week--was volunteering as part of his homeschool curriculum. Here, he displays a bag full of arugula....
His backpack packed with lettuce, carrots and chard, he sped off on his bike for the Proctor kitchen, where Barbara Major prepares the salad bar.
