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 Our garden is used as an outdoor science classroom. It is used as a laboratory where students can experience first-hand what they learn in the classroom and to experience science in ways that are impossible indoors. Approximately one hundred and fifty students in grades K through five are now using the garden. Our garden is a place where the children learn observation, math and literacy skills. They learn vocabulary skills and math skills in planning what and how much to plant. Our garden has hosted visits from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. They have cited our site as a model for other schools. We have also hosted teachers from Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania. Community volunteers and the lead teacher in our school maintain the garden throughout the summer. Two of our volunteers are senior citizens who add a multi-generation aspect to our garden. The students also come by and ask to come in and help, nobody is ever turned away. A tree service drops off wood chips when they are in the Longstreth area working. Our main social aspect is that our garden acts as a gathering place. Neighbors visit and are encouraged to take excess compost or mulch. All of our visitors comment on the calming effects of a visit to the garden. It is a safe place for students to come in the summer or any other time. Our garden now acts as the focal point for our school’s celebration of Earth Day. Our garden is a source of pride for the whole community. Many homes now have undergone a greening in front yards. Our greatest success is the five- by twelve-foot flowerbed we added in front of the Annex. In the past, vandalism was a major problem. People now walk by and comment on its beauty and how they have seen the kids in the neighborhood taking care of it. Now that’s success. The students are involved every step of the way. Our garden is a hands-on experience. During the school year the students water, plant and maintain the garden. Our students moved ten cubic yards of compost into the garden in just two days. Each volunteer has a raised bed to garden. The produce from the school beds is shared with the children and visitors as it ripens in the summer. Our neighbors call it shopping. Spring and fall produce is prepared and eaten by students in our classes. This past fall we had our first tomato festival and made pasta for four kindergarten classes using the tomatoes from the garden. The most important thing our students take away from the garden is the empowerment to see themselves as the stewards of their environment. They see that all living things have a purpose and a reason and that it is their job to respect and take care of the world in which they live. But most of all they see the importance of living Green and a true sense of pride in where they live. |
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