Wayland Town Crier 5/30/11: School gardens sprouting across region. A new trend is taking root in the region this spring as more and more schools start their own vegetable gardens. The practice, popular on the West Coast, has been slow to spread to the comparatively chillier New England, where most of the growing season occurs after the school year ends, school leaders said. But heavy focus on environmental awareness and healthy eating at local schools has now led many to consider gardening as a way to have lessons on both. "We want it to be integrated with everything," said Debbie Bearse, principal at Claypit Hill School in Wayland, which has been gradually expanding its garden over the past two years. "Some kids have written papers about it. They take it back to the classroom." Later this fall, Claypit Hill's garden will become part of a pilot program for on-site composting, Bearse said.