This month I would like to share with you my experiences designing and running a six week project with twenty two children ages 11 – 13 at a local international school. The project was 12 hours of classes covering the basics of making and maintaining a veggie garden. Here is this blog post I will go through some of the knowledge the students gained and other benefits of having a school garden.
I saw the project as an outdoor classroom where the students could observe and interact each week. We had annuals in raised beds and perennials in large planters. Whilst making and looking after a garden there are many opportunities to learn other than just working with plants that I wanted to weave into the classes.
1. Ownership: It is their garden and their responsibility to look after it. It was jointly decided that the garden will be watered three times a week. This is a great opportunity for the children to be aware of their responsibilities and take ownership, this is some thing I emphasised during the last classes.
2. Team Building: Often we split into smaller teams and then looked at each other’s work. Teamwork like this is a valuable lesson that can be applied in many areas in life.
3. Fun and Creativity: There was plenty of creativity as we made and decorated labels and signs for each element of the garden and all the plants. It was important to me that everybody who visited could learn from and enjoy the garden. We also had a lot of fun making bird feeders and Christmas wreaths.
Here are some examples of the skills the children practiced through the project:
Research: One week I gave them a little piece of homework, it was to research one of the plants we were growing in the garden. They then shared this information with the class. It was great to hear about the origin, medicinal properties and other random facts about some of the plants we were growing. It was uplifting to hear the children share their newly gained insights.
1. Ownership: It is their garden and their responsibility to look after it. It was jointly decided that the garden will be watered three times a week. This is a great opportunity for the children to be aware of their responsibilities and take ownership, this is some thing I emphasised during the last classes.
2. Team Building: Often we split into smaller teams and then looked at each other’s work. Teamwork like this is a valuable lesson that can be applied in many areas in life.
3. Fun and Creativity: There was plenty of creativity as we made and decorated labels and signs for each element of the garden and all the plants. It was important to me that everybody who visited could learn from and enjoy the garden. We also had a lot of fun making bird feeders and Christmas wreaths.
Here are some examples of the skills the children practiced through the project:
Research: One week I gave them a little piece of homework, it was to research one of the plants we were growing in the garden. They then shared this information with the class. It was great to hear about the origin, medicinal properties and other random facts about some of the plants we were growing. It was uplifting to hear the children share their newly gained insights.
Planning: A opportunity for the students to predict how the garden would develop in the coming weeks and months. To build on this it would be great to plan for the spring. Getting the children excited and organised for the new year while learning along the way.
Observation: Each week the plants grew a little and we added new
elements to the garden. It was great to see the beans, winter spinach and nasturtiums that we had planted in trays popping through. One clear observation was the experiment between having mulch and not using it. We used straw as a mulch everywhere in the garden apart from a small area where we planted carrot seeds. The conclusion was clear.
Getting their hands dirty!: We learnt how to make compost by getting our hands dirty and doing it. Some of the students documented the process and then made a presentation to the group explaining the key ingredients and stages of making long term compost. At times it felt like a science class.
Observation: Each week the plants grew a little and we added new
elements to the garden. It was great to see the beans, winter spinach and nasturtiums that we had planted in trays popping through. One clear observation was the experiment between having mulch and not using it. We used straw as a mulch everywhere in the garden apart from a small area where we planted carrot seeds. The conclusion was clear.
Getting their hands dirty!: We learnt how to make compost by getting our hands dirty and doing it. Some of the students documented the process and then made a presentation to the group explaining the key ingredients and stages of making long term compost. At times it felt like a science class.
Even though late autumn was not the best time of year to start a garden, we had great results. The truth is the children love being outdoors.
For on going success there are a couple of things I think all school gardens would benefit from:
> Drip irrigation on a timer, this will greatly reduce maintenance and deal with the tricky question of who will water during school holidays.
> Having a couple of benches that invite students to enjoy the space and observe. This helps the garden receive attention and continue to thrive.
> Using a space as a out door class room to teach other subjects, this helps to keep the garden active.
For on going success there are a couple of things I think all school gardens would benefit from:
> Drip irrigation on a timer, this will greatly reduce maintenance and deal with the tricky question of who will water during school holidays.
> Having a couple of benches that invite students to enjoy the space and observe. This helps the garden receive attention and continue to thrive.
> Using a space as a out door class room to teach other subjects, this helps to keep the garden active.
Growing a bit of veg by default connects us to nature because we start working with it, interacting, observing and enjoying. I believe part of our work is to facilitate children falling in love with nature. From there they will protect it as they grow and understand fully some of the challenges we face.
There are many lessons that can be learned from a garden and the students enjoyed the process. These students now have the key skills to set up a vegetable garden and grow their own food. This is something that they can carry through their lives. It felt great to have a small part in getting the youth excited about growing some food.
Matt Prosser 14.12.2017
There are many lessons that can be learned from a garden and the students enjoyed the process. These students now have the key skills to set up a vegetable garden and grow their own food. This is something that they can carry through their lives. It felt great to have a small part in getting the youth excited about growing some food.
Matt Prosser 14.12.2017
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