Forums

There are a number of upcoming webinars on school gardens http://www.edweb.net/schoolgardens School gardens are a growing initiative to help children understand where their food comes from and how their food choices impact their bodies, the environment, and their communities at large. A school garden can have an impact on the entire life and educational program of school and the surrounding community. Gardening activities can be incorporated into nearly every curriculum subject to enhance the appreciation of the natural world, and to provide hands-on learning activities for students. This online learning community is a place for educators, gardeners, parents, and community volunteers to come together to share information and resources on how to start and maintain a school garden, and integrate it into the curriculum and the life of a school. One of the pioneers of the school gardening movement is Dorothy Mullen, who is an organic gardener who lives in Princeton NJ. After the tragedy of 9/11, she wanted to do something positive for the community, so she started a school garden for Riverside Elementary School in Princeton. The photos in this community are of the garden she created. Dorothy worked with the teachers at the school to create a garden-based curriculum for grades K-5, correlated to NJ state standards. Dorothy's Guide to Starting a School Garden is a guide for anyone who would like to begin. A copy of the guide and many other very useful articles and lesson plans can be found by visiting the community document library. Please feel free to join and start discussions on topics related to school gardens. Upcoming Webinars Monday, January 21, 2013 - 4pm / Eastern Time Winter Planning For The Spring School Garden Speakers: Beth Feehan, Director of the NJ Farm to School Network, and Dorothy Mullen, Founder of the Princeton School Garden Program. Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - 4pm / Eastern Time Design Ideas for a Fun, Successful Instructional School Garden Speaker: John Fisher, Outreach Director, Life Lab Tuesday, March 5, 2013- 4pm / Eastern Time Garden to Plate Presenter: Jessica Cuevas, teacher and coordinator of the Margate Schools Garden, and winner of the inaugural New Jersey School Garden of the Year Award.

Pam, Thanks for starting this thread. I just got a message this morning from our Neighborhood Alliance about our local school who entered a contest to get a lot of free seeds and plants from Burpee Seed Company. The school is first so far!! So teachers might want to check into this next year. The website is http://www.burpeehomegardens.com/ICanGrow/GrowAnywhere.aspx

Hi Pam and Betty,

Thanks for the information on the upcoming web seminars and the link to the Burpee seed program! I've enjoyed reading and posting to several discussions about school gardens in the NSTA discussion forums. Here are the links to several garden discussions in the forums:

Hydroponics in Hawai'i
2nd Grade Classroom Garden
How Does your Garden Grow? Teaching Botany
Fairy Garden
Environmental Science
School Gardens Spring 2012
Vermicomposting

I've really enjoyed reading these discussions, and have gathered lots of great ideas for my idea bank from the other posters. I hope you find them as useful as I did!

Maureen

Hi Pam and other garden enthusiasts!
It is hard to think about gardens and gardening in the middle of winter with temperatures dipping into the single digits in Chicagoland. However, it is never too early to be planning for next spring and summer! With that being said, there is another discussion thread that readers in this thread might be interested in checking out: How Does Your Garden Grow?
There are some great ideas and several NSTA resources posted there, too.
Carolyn

Learnist hosts a blog on community supported agricultural http://learni.st/users/gwen.duralek/boards/11863-community-supported-agriculture?utm_source=Learnist%2BNew&utm_campaign=b2bb255229-Learnist_Digest_22_01_22_2012&utm_medium=email There are some valuable opportunities to connect gardens to lessons in biology, nutrition and sustainability

Kirk Surry who is part of the Non-Profit "Grow Some Good" has been growing some AMAZING stuff in the garden during 21st Century after school. He and the hard working kids from 21st Century are going to expand into the unused boxes over there and grow some more good:) In trying to start the school garden here and also being a teacher now, I know how challenging it is to get your kids out and break free from Math/Language Arts + testing etc. etc. It is difficult to put something else on your plate and make time to be responsible for a garden bed however good your intentions may be. (I've been there.....!!) After talking to Kirk about these challenges and lack of teacher time/energy to put into up keeping up that space right now 21st Century is going to get the foundation of the garden space growing back there, but there is a more convenient and equally wonderful way to get Science to your kids....Earth Boxes! These are self-contained gardens that can be placed OUTSIDE your classroom door. Cut down on walking over to a garden space/class management to get there & increase Science time/ daily observations with whatever you choose to grow. This is much more manageable for teachers but still gives us the opportunity to get our kids into some hands on Science.

I saw this post a little too late. Is the information archived? As a part of our Hawaiian Studies program our upper elementary students maintain a small plot of taro plants. They learn about the different kinds of taro and where they grow. They learn about the important role it played in Hawaiian life. The students enjoy taking on an active role working in the garden and using the same kind of tools as the ancient Hawaiians once did. Seeing how successful this is it has inspired me to start a school garden and try to integrate other subjects in the learning experience. I do believe children should know where their food came from and they can learn so much more from creating a school garden. I can imagine integrating every subject creating and maintaining a school garden. So instead of thinking of having to pull your students away from your Math or Language Arts schedule, think of it as your Math, Language Arts, Science, Health, and Social Studies curriculum. Students can research what kind of plants grow well in their climate, find out about native plants and the historical significance, learn about how plants grow, working cooperatively for a common purpose, research nutritional value of the vegetables they grow, hold a farmers market, the learning experiences are endless!

Thanks for some great links about gardening with children and up coming events dealing with this topic. I am working on a two week unit project, and was interested in putting together a courtyard redesign project. I was able to find a lot of good resources in the learning center and wanted to share my unit with the different resources i found. A lot of the books or journals had a lot of lessons and ways to lead into the topic of gardening. It also offered information on different activities you can do besides just planting flowers. http://learningcenter.nsta.org/share.aspx?id=DQwplusgHI Enjoy :)

This forum is very informative. I found out last week that we received a donation from Home Deport to start a school garden. We have the area for completing this process and now we are in the beginning stages for starting the garden. I look forward to perusing the information that has been provided and look forward to sharing it with the committee in charge of the garden. Thank you for all the information.

Pam, I am joining a community garden for the first time this season and I am so excited about it. I couldn't agree more that schools should use gardens to teach across the curriculum. Thank you for posting the Burpee website. If you have a smartphone or tablet, Burpee has a great free app as well!

I'm so excited to receive all of this useful information. I'm a student at FIU and will (hopefully soon) be teaching elementary school students. Thank you Ashley and Pam, for the Burpee website and smartphone app. Thank you Kristi, for mentioning that The Home Depot has provided a donation for your school. I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to starting a garden with my students. I live in Florida where it's relatively easy to grow so many things all year round. I would even like to plant some native trees. Sadly, because so many different types of things grow here so easily, there seems to be a shortage of our native trees. I will (shamelessly) approach The Home Depot and any other company that might be willing to donate to the best cause, children's education! Unfortunately, I've missed the web seminars, but at least I can view them as archives. Thanks again for all of your posts. Happy Gardening!