The CRMS greenhouse in the morning light ahead of harvesting. Several lines of different plants grow there each year, along with wildflowers. This is also where the students and director of the garden program, Heather McDermott, process and sort its produce — and honey from the bees, who get pollen from the garden — before sending it to the kitchen or prepping it for sale.
One of the core pillars of education at Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) is contributing back to the school community, so much so that service is incorporated into the weekly curriculum. One of the most established facets is its Garden Program, where students, alongside staff, plant, grow and harvest produce, which offsets 40% of the school’s vegetable costs annually. There’s student involvement at every step, from the garden to the kitchen, where students help prepare the food, to the cafeteria, where they enjoy a meal they helped prepare — from start to finish — in their daily meals and during the annual Harvest Dinner.
CRMS senior Olive Brule plucks a raspberry from the garden. Olive has been involved in the Garden Program for four years and won the “Golden Shovel” award in 2024, which recognizes one student each year for their dedication to the service program.CRMS Garden Assistant Maddie Werner (left) and Emory, a freshman, carry harvested pumpkins for the school’s annual pumpkin-truck sale, which started in mid-September.CRMS students celebrate after harvesting and setting up the pumpkin truck. The truck is an annual tradition many students look forward to at the beginning of fall.CRMS’s head chef, Bryan Garneau, gives instructions to students on how to prepare a dessert.CRMS senior Colin Glackin and his peers gather for the annual Harvest Dinner on Oct. 8, held each year in celebration of the work that goes into the garden and the bounty it produces.
