Instruments for the Harmony Garden

Music is a universal language that everyone can speak and understand. One of the major components of the Skyview Harmony Garden will be a musical installation similar to the ones pictured above. These instruments will provide children and adults of all ages and abilities the opportunity to interact through spontaneous creative expression.

The Skyview Elementary Harmony Garden fundraising efforts are already underway. Our music teacher, Mr. Aeschbacher, set up Donor's Choose site to help fund the first of the instruments. We are raising money for a set of durable Tubano drums, designed for outdoor use. These drums, when hit, produce an earthy sound that resonates throughout the garden. We will eventually pair these drums with other melodic instruments, all tuned to each other so that they never clash.

This project qualifies for the SPARK match: For the next five days, when someone donates to the project and enters the code SPARK, DonorsChoose.org will match their donation dollar for dollar. Donate by March 2, 2015 and use the promo code SPARK during checkout to double our donations to the project (up to $100).

P.S. Donor's Choose will ask you, during check out, what percent of your donation you want to donate towards Donor's Choose. Remember to chose "0" so that the total donation goes to the garden project.

Donate HERE and don't forget your code: SPARK

Thank you for your support!

Proposed Garden Site

We're so excited to kick start the planning and fundraising 

phase of the Skyview Elementary Harmony Garden! 

Wait, what? Skyview is building a garden!?!  

Yes! The Skyview Elementary PTA is endeavoring to create a music garden on the Skyview campus in Dallas, TX. This space would feature both a vegetable garden and an installation of outdoor musical instruments. This is not a playground, but rather an outdoor learning environment (OLE) for Skyview students, staff and families.

The initial goal for the garden is to fund and install three to four musical structures that would anchor the garden layout. We would start with 4-6 raised beds and work our way up to 8-10. Our raised beds will be constructed by neighborhood volunteers, Skyview Harmony Garden partners and Skyview families. Our focus will be on 100% organic gardening, with the primary concentration on organic edible gardening by seed planting or transplanting-- with a secondary interest in flowers and a butterfly habitat. Our goal is to involve all the teachers and students and to fully integrate the OLE into the daily curriculum, providing multi- disciplinary learning, aligned with state and national education standards.


The Proposed Site

The area identified for the garden is located behind the school in a U-shaped alcove just outside of the gym. The proposed area is clearly defined by the walls of the school and ends at the sidewalk. The area is roughly 50 feet x 70 feet. The site is located within an area that has access to water, but we are interested in using a rainwater collection system. The sunlight in the specified area is conducive to our needs and receives at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. The area is easily accessible and conveniently located behind the school, away from busy streets and parking lots.

Are you as excited as we are about the Skyview Garden?

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