We use the garden to integrate science, math, art, social studies, reading, and writing. We’ve learned what seeds and plants need to grow. We’ve learned more about beneficial spiders and insects. Many of us have used math skills such as measuring and graphing while working in the garden. We read a lot of books about gardens, such as Vegetable Soup. We also write in our journals about what we observe and what we do. We have a GrowLab so we are able to start many plants indoors, then transplant them later. Students in the GLOBE club are collecting atmospheric and soil data such as soil characterization, soil infiltration, and soil fertility. We have been awarded two Artist in Residency Grants to have an interdisciplinary fiber artist come to our school twice for several weeks. She helped us design and manufacture twelve nature/garden flags which fly in our garden area and this year she helped us design and make animal masks, and students performed a play in the garden.

Fourteen classrooms, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade, are each responsible for caring for one raised bed garden (4 feet by 16 feet), the sunflower or tepee garden, or the row of strawberries. In these areas we have vegetables, fruits, and flowers. We initially started out with mainly vegetables; however, after winning the National Gardening Association Grant award we were given flowers and fruits. With the new PA Environment and Ecology Standards, we have resorted back to more vegetable companion planting, as explained in the book Carrots Love Tomatoes, to meet the agriculture and integrated pest management standards. Between crop rotation and companion planting, pests have not yet been a problem! We raised and released lady beetles into the garden area. We have two volunteer fathers who bring us manure and rototill twice a year. Families have donated yard waste to our three compost bins. This year we added a new compost tumbler so we can make compost faster. Students turn the handle daily to mix up the contents. We use 100% organic fertilizers and insect controls. This fall we’ll be incorporating "green manure crops." Approximately 40 families and some teachers sign up to help in the garden over summer vacation. We also have a senior citizen volunteer who comes in once a week during the school year to help in the garden, donate small items, and offer advice.

Four years ago, we had a group of volunteers who helped put together the ten raised bed gardens and fill them with top soil and then mulched leaves. We had materials worth over $1000 donated from many local businesses. The classes care for the garden and do the planting during the school year. In the summer, families sign up for a particular week to water, weed, and harvest the vegetables. We have so much help, most families only need to come once or twice a summer. The first summer, we collected all the vegetables and made soup for over 40 families! We had the harvest celebration in our school cafeteria. The soup was yummy and families were also given a jar of pickles made from our cucumbers to take home. Last fall, students from our school took the donations to a local homeless shelter and got a tour of the place.

Students are involved in all aspects of the garden such as deciding what to grow, watering plants in the GrowLab and outside, planting and transplanting, weeding, harvesting, and eating some of the fruits and vegetables. They also turn the new compost tumbler daily, and add material when appropriate.

Three years ago we had the soup harvest festival which was successful and took a lot of work. This past summer we decided that the families could take and eat what they wanted when they came to volunteer. Currently, our food is donated once a week to the Chester County Gleaning Program, where it usually goes to the local homeless shelter.

Students have developed an appreciation for living things and they now have the knowledge of where food comes from as well as the necessary skills to start a garden of their own. Interactions between insects and plants become apparent to them. Because students are actively involved in composting, they now understand how the process works. Knowledge of the benefits of native perennial plants are explained. Finally, as a result of visiting the homeless shelter and donating food, students learn to give to those in need.