One of my fondest grade-school memories involves a sweet potato, toothpicks, and a glass of water. There was something magical about watching as a tangle of roots first appeared in the water, followed by leafy tendrils that spilled over the glass and then extended wildly across the kitchen windowsill.

Yet as wondrous as that experiment was, I didn't learn much beyond the fact that you don't need dirt to cultivate a tuber. The good news is we've come a long way. One of the wonderful things to spring from the green movement is the major push for schools to teach even the youngest kids to be aware of the world around them and how they can help take care of it.

A prime example of this effort is happening right around the corner from my apartment at the circa 1894 public elementary school that serves about 500 kids, including some from my building. Over the summer, my friend and neighbor Randi started telling me about the picturesque red brick schoolhouse's new Sunshine Garden, named by a first grader. I knew there was strong parent involvement at PS 107, where Randi's daughter, Olivia, attends second grade, but until I started asking questions, I had no idea what an ambitious project they had undertaken.

This official garden of NYC GreenThumb and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden GreenBridge Community Garden Alliance is serving as an outdoor classroom for the K-5 kids, who will learn about plant growth, nutrition, and how we get our food. (No, it doesn't arrive magically prepackaged at the store.) Plus, as one of the city's 20 pilot sites for the Garden to School Café program, run by the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets and the New York City Department of Education's SchoolFood program, the students are getting the chance to reap -- and eat -- what they've sown. Randi, who heads the school's Wellness Committee, is in charge of this important effort.

But first, she suggested I dish the dirt with Michele, who cochairs the Garden Committee when she isn't running her own school curriculum consulting firm. Last April, PS 107 broke ground and students began planting a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Michele, whose son, Aidan, also attends second grade, rattled off the list via e-mail: raspberries and gooseberries; peas, radishes, lettuce, kale, leeks, cabbage; arugula, corn, pole beans, bush beans, sweet peppers, eggplant, sunflowers, calendula, oregano, chives; three types of basil; and parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. "Yes," Michele says, "I think we will teach them the song." As for the "absolutely gorgeous purple heirloom" potatoes, she notes, "I almost cried when we harvested them!"

Mind you, this urban school's grounds are covered by cement, so all of the planting is being done in containers. By and large, it's also green. "We have used many organic seeds and seedlings," Michele says, "and only organic soil and fertilizer, as well as compost. We don't/won't use pesticides.

But they do use red wigglers. Last spring, a parent who also happens to be a science teacher and a "master composter" trained some teachers in this fine art. Students brought in food scraps like shells, leaving several classes to tend to the boxes and then dump the contents out so they could extract the worms and collect the compost.

Community involvement doesn't end there. There's also Bryan, a local garden designer, who offered pro-bono services; Steve, who Michele dubs "science teacher extraordinaire," who spearheaded the project as an outdoor classroom; Dan, a carpenter, who volunteered to lead construction; local businesses that donated everything from whisky barrel planters to organic seeds; and the custodial staff, who worked with the Garden Committee to approve space, unload trucks, and get permits. Meanwhile, Michele's grant-writing expertise raised more than $5,000 in seed money from sources including Lowe's Toolbox for Education and Cornell University's Kids Growing Food Grant.

Not that the Sunshine Garden hasn't run into some ruts. When scaffolding was erected around the school, everything had to be transferred to EarthBoxes. Some of the teachers didn't like composting -- as Michele puts it, "fruit flies plus stink equals yech!" -- but she's confident they can line up others. It's the big picture that most concerns her: She acknowledges that while parents had to get the project up and running, "it needs to become a part of a school culture that then empowers students" to become advocates for green, wellness, and environmental change.

With the fall comes the first big event, Harvest Day, run by Randi's Wellness Committee. When I spoke with her a couple of weeks prior, this corporate lawyer was rushing around like a cooking show contestant, planning the menu as well as a trade show in the cafeteria.

So what's on the lunch menu? Pasta pesto made from the basil will be served along with the cafeteria's roasted chicken, which will be anything but standard issue thanks to spices straight out of the garden. There will also be eggplant stew, "kaleslaw" and herbed rice salad tastings. "Kids will vote on their favorite," Randi says, "and the winner will be served for lunch in November." In addition, the lunchroom will be set up as a "harvest/produce trade show," including fresh fruit and veggie juice samples.

As I was writing this piece, I was happy to learn that Seventh Generation has created its own Science Lesson Plans for all grade levels. Teachers and administrators can download PDFs of the curriculum.

Then fellow 7Gen blogger greenyourenvironment steered parents to the Green Schools Alliance, which urges the nation's more than 95,000 public and 34,000 private and independent schools to become "active participants in global efforts to conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and prepare citizens to think and act in new and creative ways."

I'd say PS 107, which won the 2009 Parent Group of the Year for Outstanding Job on a Completed Major Project from the Parent Teacher Organization, is taking big steps in the right direction.

Note: Watch for my coverage of Harvest Day, as well as more on Randi's ambitious plans for the Wellness Committee.

photo: woodley wonderworks