On Tuesday, April 17, West End Elementary entertained the Seven Lakes Kiwanis Club at lunch at their school.

Principal Leigh Ann McClendon arranged this in honor of the many years of service the local Kiwanians have given to the WEE facility and its children.

Afterward, four fifth-graders, Isabella Arnot, Andrew Bounthanon, Alyssa Kushner and Anthony Nuzzo, delivered a computer PowerPoint presentation - totally of their own creation - on the subject of the school's newly developed vegetable garden.

Numerous beds displayed their initial seedlings' growth of this year's spring plantings of lettuce, kale, carrots, beans and the like. Interestingly, many of the individual gardens will produce vegetable items from around the world which are not normally grown here in the USA.

Brad Thompson, a fifth-grade teacher, praised the entire class for their enthusiasm, hard work and creativity in developing these interesting and bountiful gardens. The children's goal is to have an entirely "green approved" operation.

Toward that end they have put in a self-sustaining watering system utilizing rainwater. A mulch pile for future fertilizing has been started. Part of this program is geared toward usage of these home-grown vegetables in their school's cafeteria.

Adding to the authentication of the "world-wide" influence, the children have made a Cobb oven. This unit is very large, reaching almost five feet in height.

Formed from cinderblock, natural soil, clay and water, the oven resembles a small Eskimo igloo in shape. The oven is lined with bricks that were home-made from dirt and straw by the kids.

Wood-fired, the oven can reach an internal temperature of 600 degrees and will be used to actually cook some of the produce. An inquiry was made seeking information as to protecting the gardens from rabbits, deer and other "varmints."

"While some of the area has a chain-link fence, we think the main deterrent is opportunistically provided by a pair of nesting red-tail hawks situated right over our cultivated area," says McClendon. "So far we have had no problems."

After the computer presentation and garden walk-through, the Kiwanians stayed on at the school and helped the kindergarten classes assemble bluebird houses.

The Seven Lakes Kiwanis Club meets on Tuesdays at the Seven Lakes Country Club at 11:30 a.m.