WESTHAMPTON — There are a lot of green spaces framing the parking lot of Hampshire Regional High School. What in most instances would be bays of manicured lawn, for the past three years has been utilized as garden space for residents and students, thanks to a community garden organized by Susan Bronstein and Barbara Pelissier.

“Real world and authentic” is how science teacher Jacob Masenior describes the garden, which at its current stage of development only produces enough produce to be sent to the cafeteria for students to sample on select days.

“The goal is to contribute more than just a sampling,” Masenior said, as he gave a tour of the space the students have been given to cultivate. Students closed the garden for the season on Wednesday morning, as temperatures begin to take their first drastic dips of the season.

Potatoes grown in bags of soil were harvested, and the soil thrown into beds. Underneath the layer of dirt from the potato bags, oat and pea seeds were sown, which Masenior explained to the kids would enrich the soil’s nitrogen levels in time for new crops in the spring, when different seeds will be placed in different beds, effectively completing a process of crop rotation.

There are currently two areas to garden at the high school — one is maintained by the students, and another larger section which so far has seven beds, and is open to be used by residents. There are also community gardens at Hampshire Regional Middle School.

The grounds currently produce tomatoes, potatoes, dill, peppers and basil, with a stretch of pumpkins anticipated along the guardrail of the parking lot after having seeds donated.

“Castoff materials,” much like what could have been castoff space if not for the gardens, are prized by the small farming community.

“When you build with these kinds of things you not only cut the budget, but you’re getting the kids thinking,” he said, pointing to the piles of risers, tables and compost barrels made from reused, donated material, such as pallets.

“Sustainable and locally sourced” hemlock wood from Williamsburg was used by the students who built each garden bed throughout the space.

Senior Bella Gallo has been here for the entire process of growth in the garden, since the beds had been built a couple years back. Toward the end of the pandemic she had taken an environmental science class, in which plants were grown in the classroom hydroponically — and expressed her preference for being outside.

“It’s more fulfilling moving around dirt,” she said. “It feels like you’re a part of something.”

Among the students who built the beds themselves is junior Mariska Felty, who shared he has even transferred the skill home by putting garden beds together at his house, and complimented the process by calling it “sick.”

Sophomore Brielle Stine has focused her efforts on the upkeep of the space, and who had an internship over the summer assisting Bronstein.

“I came and worked Mondays and Saturdays, and whenever they needed me,” she said. While she is no stranger to the outdoors as an equestrian and has learned some gardening with her parents, she shared that the internship “made me more interested in growing more in the future.”

Masenior said the time spent outdoors in the garden, or those spent sewing seeds, take up only a few days of the year’s curriculum. The seventh grade class particularly utilizes the garden space since their science course concentrates on sustainability and real-world problem solving, he said, adding that this was the perfect forum to introduce and leaven the skills of critical thinking and curiosity.

“This teaches the kids everything from local agriculture, to community involvement and climate change,” said Masenior.

Science teacher Rebecca Beaupre added that even the kids who do have exposure to agriculture greatly appreciate the opportunity, saying that those kids “want to show the teachers how much they know ... some have more farming experience than we ever will.”

In addition to the student beds, the resident garden allows those who don’t have space or who want to socialize while gardening to do so. Pelissier’s son built a storage shed close by, and it had been painted white by a resident, said Bronstein, who reflected that the community garden, currently run by three teachers and a student partner in addition to herself, “really takes a village” to maintain.

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com