Bloomington elementary school holds plant and rummage sale

To raise money for its parent-teacher organization, Fairview Elementary School held its “Annual Rummage and Plant Sale” Saturday.\nThe plants sold at the sale were grown in the Jordan Hall Greenhouse by some students in the environmental biology course L350. The students were required to complete 15 hours of service-learning by participating in a project in the community. One project was to help students at Fairview Elementary School learn to garden.\n“It started off as a class project, now there’s a strong urge to give back,” said IU senior Kathleen Townley, who helped sell the plants.\nThe sale, which lasted from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., included several varieties of eggplant, basil, broccoli, squash, zucchini, pumpkin, watermelon, peppers and other plants. \nIU senior Bryan Patrick, who also helped with the plant sale, said a number of the plants were “heirlooms.” He said those were varieties of plants that had gone out of style. Heirloom plants and vegetables aren’t mass produced for sale in grocery stores.\nTownley said that last year, IU students also sold plants at Fairview, so the students this year knew what was in demand. She said many of the heirloom plant seeds were donated. Townley also said the IU students sold many of the same type of plants the elementary school students grow in Fairview Elementary’s school garden.\nTownley said she hoped to sell all the plants by the end of the sale. She said the plants, which went for $1.50 - $2, were selling briskly.\nBloomington resident and gardening enthusiast Peggy Anderson said she lives around the corner from the school and saw a sign for the sale a few days before. She bought some heirloom tomatoes and said she was coming back for additional plants. \nAnderson said she wanted to support the the school.\nThe rummage portion of the sale was held in the school gymnasium. The sale consisted of “anything that’s of decent quality,” said parent volunteer Erin Fleser. The sale included household items, clothes, art and other items\nFleser said all the money raised on Sunday will go to the Fairview Parent-Teacher Organization. She said the organization is made up of parents, faculty and staff of Fairview Elementary and community members. She said it organizes activities such as fundraisers, dances and science nights. \nThe money raised Saturday would be used for student and faculty needs, Fleser said. She said the rummage part of the sale has been going on at least five years. \nFleser said the elementary school students were actively involved in the rummage sale. She said the grade-schoolers helped set up tables and \nprice items.\n“It’s just getting them to sit still that’s a little hard,” Fleser said, “so we don’t make them sell stuff.”