SANDPOINT — As enrollment at the Homeschool Academy continues to grow, now its garden will, too.

Sandpoint Elks Lodge No. 1376 members donated four raised garden beds, which were installed at the Homeschool Academy's new location by the high school on Thursday.

"I just think every kids needs to be getting in the dirt more and growing food," said Melinda Rossman, Homeschool Academy director.

The Elks Lodge has helped install gardens at five schools over the past five years, including Washington, Farmin-Stidwell, Sagle, and Southside elementaries, and now the Homeschool Academy. At a cost of $2,000 each, which covers the materials to build the beds, as well as automatic watering systems and other items, the Elks have put $10,000 in grant money toward the school gardens.

"They've asked us to do it and we like helping when we can," said Becky Stone, exalted ruler for the Elks. "And it helps the children learn to grow their own food and learn nutrition and things like that."

The money is through a Beacon grant, which provides lodges with an opportunity to develop an ongoing, charitable, Elks-driven community project. Michele Murphree, Food For Our Children member and coordinator for the Edible Schoolyard Garden Project, said through the grant, they not only donate the money, but they do all the work as well. They build the beds and put in the watering systems, she said.

"They love working with these kids," Murphree said. "... And I think it's great, too, because the conversation in Bonner County has kind of turned toward, 'We need to get healthy food to our kids,' like with the High Five grant coming in now, so I'm excited to see our community really invested in our kids and getting them some healthy food."

The Homeschool Academy provides supplemental education for home-school students in the Lake Pend Oreille School District, grades K-8. Experiential learning is a main focus of Rossman's, with outdoor education, culinary arts, music and theater, as well as lessons in English Language Arts, math, art, science, American Sign Language and Spanish. So having a garden where the kids can learn to grow their own food is just another opportunity for the kids to do something they like to do, Rossman said.

Rossman said they were allowed to use the Lake Pend Oreille High School's garden last year, but four of the six times they were supposed to go over there, the weather changed their plans.

"But we did get over there twice and started some fun activities," Rossman said.

In addition to the garden, Rossman hopes to get a small greenhouse at the school, possibly with some of the funds from the High Five grant, as well as start a farm-to-table program.

Rossman said that, as with anything they do, the kids will make the decision as to what will ultimately be planted in the garden. There will definitely be peppers, Rossman said. One of the middle-schoolers who was helping out on Thursday, Shayden O'Dellelliot, said he grows blueberries at home, so he suggested they grow some of those, as well as strawberries. His schoolmate, Aaron Betz, said his favorite vegetable to grow is carrots. Rossman agreed with the youngsters' suggestions. She said they will also end up with a mixture of flowers in addition to fruits and vegetables.

"I think just giving them a choice and getting a chance to work in the dirt, because not all of these kids have a garden at home, I think it's an important part of all communities," Rossman said, adding that community gardens have gone by the wayside as the technology era took over. "A lot of kids, that's what they do when they go home — they play on their computers or iPads, or they do online education — they are not out in the dirt. And having this skill, it's not a skill you ever lose."

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.