REASON 3: Being a part of a school garden foster
achievement! While the traditional classroom provides an environment in which students can learn by listening to their teacher or by reading a book, the school garden becomes an outdoor classroom with hands on interaction and leaves them with longer lasting lessons learned. Not only does the school garden allow them to get outside, but the majority of students (and adults) learn better and retain the information that they have learned when they are part of the process. Many states and online resources provide K-12 curriculum to incorporate any of the academic fields into a school garden. This can be something as simple as kindergartners going out to count the number of plants or describe different shapes they see in the garden, or a middle school aged student writing a poem about the pollinators in the garden, all the way to high school students using their geometric skills to identify space within a garden or create a method of harnessing natural rainwater into usable water for the garden. Truly, the possibilities of incorporating any curriculum into a school garden are absolutely endless!
environmental stewardship! With the changes in agricultural communities, the majority of students have never seen anything grow, much less understand what it takes for food to grow. Students who are involved in school gardens, have a better understanding of the relationship between the impact that they have on the environment, and what they do not only affects their community, but their world. This newfound connectedness to nature, can help the child understand how they are connected their environment. Thus, fostering a respect for food, farmers, and nature as a whole. School gardens can clearly have a number of positive impacts on a child. There is not a one size fits all model to having a school garden in any given district or school food system, but no matter the size of your garden, it can have long lasting benefits on a child’s life. It’s hard to not be passionate about such a fantastic initiative that positively impacts our community, our world, and our kids!
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