Despite wind and relentless rain, students, teachers and community members came equipped with tools and enthusiasm to begin construction of a community garden at Lakota Middle School.

On Saturday, volunteers hauled soil, spread bark chip and built garden beds that will soon be home to various crops. The garden has been in discussion for over two years as a way to enrich Lakota’s Integrated Environmental and Sustainability Academy.

Eighth grade teacher and coordinator Laurie Sukola explained how the academy originated.

“It all started with kids saying, ‘we want to see something grow.’ They wanted to see something out here come to life.”

So Lakota staff members created a program to support students’ interests.

Integrated Environmental and Sustainability Academy began with one sixth grade class and one seventh grade class comprised of 25-30 students. There was one teacher per grade, who was responsible for teaching each subject with an environmental focus. Soon the program became so popular that parents were asking to extend the academy into eighth grade. Now, the academy is available for grades six through eight, but students must be chosen through an application process to participate.

A community garden has been a part of the academy’s vision from the very start, but the school’s PTA is responsible for making it a reality. The project has been funded, planned and executed by Lakota’s PTA and will continue to be in the future. Upon completion, the garden is projected to produce 9-10,000 pounds of food per year, including lettuce, peas, cucumbers and more.

“This will really help our students grow and get hands on experience,” Sukola said. “Our goal is ultimately that all of the food will go back to the students. We want to get a plan set up so that it’s benefiting them and going back to the community.”

Although a system has yet to be established for how the food will be distributed, Lakota’s goal is well underway.

As guests filtered in to start construction early Saturday morning, the middle school’s staff and PTA members set up hot chocolate stations and a buffet in the cafeteria to keep volunteers fueled throughout the day. Around the room volunteer sign-up sheets and a map of the garden layout were scattered on tables for people to view.

Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell and Executive Director of Federal Way Community Gardens Foundation Mike Stanley were among the crowd. Ferrell greeted community members and chatted with students prior to the groundbreaking ceremony. Around 9:30 a.m., Ferrell and Stanley approached a microphone in the middle school’s cafeteria and prompted everyone to gather.

Ferrell welcomed everyone to the event and expressed his support of the project.

“As a father of a 7-year-old, I think this is just awesome.”

Ferrell also referenced the Sioux meaning of Lakota, a gathering of friends “which is exactly what this is.”

Stanley explained his background as a member of the Federal Way Community Gardens, stating this is the 10th garden he has designed in the area. Due to Washington’s cold weather, Stanley advised not to plant anything until the beginning of April, but he expressed that, “I’m excited to be here every step of the way.”

Following the introduction, Ferrell, Stanley and community members went out to the garden and dug shovels into the soil as part of the ceremonial groundbreaking. After taking pictures, people went straight to work transporting wheelbarrows full of bark to lie on the soil.

Later in the day, Native American healer Seneca Elder Warren Gohl came to Lakota to perform a traditional blessing on the grounds.

“That was really, really important to us,” said community garden chair Sharry Edwards. “We really wanted to incorporate the Native American tradition because that’s a big part of Lakota’s history.”

Although the garden is finally underway, there is still plenty of work and planning to be done. A major component that will determine the project’s growth is funding. Eventually, Lakota hopes to install benches, a greenhouse and another 10,000 square foot garden for students to utilize.

For more information or contribute to their fundraising efforts, visit Lakota Middle School’s website and click on the “Community Garden” tab.