Using Gardens to Help Teach
Learning
about metamorphosis by watching caterpillars develop into butterflies
is an experience of a different magnitude from reading a textbook.
Principal Ashley Garcia said teachers regularly use Washington
Elementary's butterfly garden to help teach about life cycles.
Pioneering programs like the Edible Schoolyard
in Berkely, California, have used school gardens to offer hands-on,
experiential learning in a wide array of disciplines, including
science, math, language arts, visual arts, and nutrition. The Edible
Schoolyard calls itself an "interactive classroom," where each of the
nearly 1,000 students participate in harvesting and preparing produce
as part of their classes.
Fayetteville
Public Schools Director of 21st Century Learning Jenny Gammill said,
"School gardens provide multiple ways for 21st century learning to take
place, giving students the opportunity to develop collaboration and
communication skills, as well as life and career skills, including
productivity, responsibility, and leadership. Furthermore, school
gardens provide an authentic purpose for learning about healthy
lifestyles and sustainability."
Fayetteville High School ALLPS Greenhouse
Students
from Fayetteville High School's ALLPS program designed and built a
greenhouse as part of a collaborative effort between Andrew Milburn's
Geometry class, Jon Gheen's Service Learning class, and Linley Lyerly's
Biology class. The Geometry students designed and planned the
structure; the Service Learning students built it; and the Biology
students will plant an organic garden and conduct genetics experiments.
However, "There is a lot of overlap in the students in our classes, so
many students were able to participate in both the designing and the
building of the greenhouse," said Gheen. Milburn said, "A lot of our
students are hands-on learners. When math becomes real it's a lot more
exciting."
Other schools with
gardening activities include Root Elementary, where kindergarteners and
first graders plant sunflowers each year. Happy Hollow Elementary has a
rain garden, greenhouse, and school garden. Holcomb Elementary school
has a butterfly garden. Many schools offer landscaping days where
parents and students maintain plant beds and courtyards. Butterfield
Elementary is working to develop a garden, but the school must first
overcome drainage issues.
The
spread of school and community gardens has even captured the attention
of First Lady Michelle Obama, who planted the first kitchen garden at
the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt during World War II.
An article in The New York Times
reports that while the White House's organic garden will provide food
for the first family's meals and formal dinners, its most important
role is to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and
vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national
concern. Twenty-three Washington DC fifth graders are helping Mrs.
Obama tend the garden.
"My
hope," the first lady said, "is that through children, they will begin
to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our
communities."
Local Organizations Assisting with School Gardens:
Other Gardening Opportunities for Kids:
