Brenda Griffin of Pink Hill Elementary School, left, and Rubi Blancas of Northeast Elementary School accept Lenoir County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Association grant awards from Patricia Bizzell, chair of the grant committee.

Two LCPS teachers are winners of 2023 gardening grants from the Lenoir County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Association.

Rubi Blancas, a third-grade teacher at Northeast Elementary School, and Brenda Griffin, a fourth-grade teacher at Pink Hill Elementary School, won $300 grants designed to involve students in growing plants and analyzing the process.

Blancas submitted Northeast’s grant application along with fellow teachers Jennifer Johnson and Robin Cobb. Griffin submitted the Pink Hill grant on behalf of the school’s grant committee, comprised of herself and fellow faculty members Bena Miller, Emily Oliver, Megan Lawson, Leigh Anne Hall and Leyha Murphy.

Johnna Modlin of Hope Preparatory School also won a $300 Master Gardener grant.

The grants were awarded at the Master Gardener Christmas Party and Achievement Banquet on Dec. 12.

The Northeast grant will allow students to prepare and grow different types of flowers, greens and herbs in order to sell them in a spring market outdoor activity. “The spring market will require students to develop their math skills and economic knowledge to successfully make a profit that will provide funds for the next plant growing season,” the grant application reads.

At Pink Hill, students will beautify the school grounds by preparing flower beds and planting daylilies around the school sign. The project, to involve K-5 students, is to be used as an instructional opportunity in math, science and English language arts, as students figure the cost of the project’s components, study soil composition and document the growth of the daylilies with photos and journal entries.

The Hope Preparatory grant will be used to expand the school’s existing pollinator garden. The funds will go toward additional plants, permanent labels for plants, a new arbor and bench and a bird bath or feeder.

Lenoir County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers provide information and assistance on gardens, lawns and landscapes for county residents and promote community and youth gardening through programs, events and donations. This is the seventh year the group has provided grants to teachers in Lenoir County.