Many years in the making, a beautiful garden is lush with spring’s bounty at PS/MS 50, the Vito Marcantonio School, in East Harlem. Local elected officials and community leaders were on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 9 to launch the school’s peace garden, which consists of a dual-level atrium, with soil beds on the lower level and a hydroponic garden on the upper level. An outdoor, street-level garden near the elementary-grade classrooms has been a source of pride for more than a year now. Paul Clarke, a special education teacher and the school’s sustainability coordinator, has worked for seven years to make the garden a reality. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito was responsible for $1 million in funding over a three-year cycle, and City Comptroller Scott Stringer contributed $500,000 over two years, Clarke said. The setup is perfect, he explained, for learning about science because students can compare which environment is optimal for which plants: the outdoor beds, exposed to the elements, or the indoor soil or the hydroponic greenhouse. “Our intention is to teach kids about plants and nature — you learn peace by growing plants and sensitizing yourself to the vulnerabilities of plants,” Clarke said. “The students surprise me because they’re much more tender (in the garden) and handle the plants gently.” The younger grades in this K–8 school work with the CookShop program and learn to try new foods. The garden is currently overflowing with collard greens, tomatoes, chard, lettuce and basil. Some of the harvest may soon be sold to a local deli so that the surrounding community, which has been described as a nutritional desert, has access to healthier foods. “Paul Clarke has been like Mother Nature in our building,” said Noelle Dunn, a Teacher Center coach at the school who was previously a teacher there for 19 years. “It’s been his blood, sweat and tears to open this garden, and it will be his legacy to our school.” Dunn is looking forward to infusing lessons from the garden into the curriculum for all grades next year. The garden, she said, “is a sign of hope for all students and it’s nice for the community as well.”