Our garden—an outdoors classroom—has been an invaluable source of hands-on activity and a means of integrating the curriculum for all five sections of sixth grade. Many of the Pennsylvania academic standards have been addressed not only in science and ecology, but also in math through graphing, charting and measuring, language arts through journal entries, and reading through garden related fiction and non-fiction literature.
Students in their own words:

"I’ve learned a lot about the environment."

"A garden can be a mini-world full of science, learning how plants make their own food."

"It showed me how nature works, how it changes through the four seasons."

"It makes you want to research and ask questions."

"It helps us to respond to nature and all the organisms in it."

"I learned how to observe things better. You can touch, feel, and smell everything, and in a book you can’t do that."

"It has taught us about plant growth and response and about different kinds of insects."

"It has taught us how living things survive, how plants grow, about ecosystems and biomes, food chains and webs, and the different cycles. It was fun and interesting."

The garden is permanent and maintained by middle school students, grades 6 through 8, throughout the school year and by members of the youth garden club (also middle school students), with the help of interested parents, during the summer. All sixth graders, often working cooperatively, are involved in some way. They compost, mulch, care for bird feeders, water plants, refill the pond with river water, plant seeds/plants. Club members have a summer schedule and are provided a ‘task’ list at which they work together to complete. This garden was designed for low maintenance so the summer crew doesn’t have much to do but watch things grow!

The fun part of gardening is the social aspect. During get-togethers we have feasted on edible flowers, made swags and wreaths, built scarecrows, made herbal vinegars and teas, created plant stepping stones, held midsummer parties featuring garden games and herbal refreshments, and invited first graders to tour the garden and provided them with strawberry plants to pot for Mother’s Day gifts. For the entire school, fall garden shows have been held for students to exhibit garden produce and artistic arrangements.
The original garden construction was done completely by students following my basic design 8 years ago. Further enlargements and additions to the site have been student ideas and construction such as our frog pond with solar powered pump and a ‘human’ sundial that operates all twelve months (but only on sunny days). Students have been enthusiastic builders of structures, fences and trellises, and park benches for break time. This spring we added a large cold frame to extend our growing season from earlier spring to late fall.

Quantities of vegetables and herbs are adequate from our small garden for use in projects/activities in the classroom with extras being sent home with students and staff. Flowers are cut and arranged by students for beautification of office and cafeteria counters. Students like to eat things fresh from the garden so edibles are quickly consumed on site. Plant material in various phases of development and growth is used as a resource for life science and ecology classes.

Students (and this teacher) overwhelmingly prefer the garden as a classroom, each trip there providing a new adventure with something to investigate. Boys and girls become more familiar and less fearful of the natural world. They learn to work cooperatively, become better problem solvers, and build self-esteem. Powers of observation increase along with thinking and writing skills. Students in their own words:

"It makes me wonder sometimes how animals can survive on an Earth where people destroy their homes."

"I learned, without plants, we would not be here today."

"I learned to respect the environment."

"It makes me think about animals and insects. I used to kill them, now I don’t; I let them be."

"It has taught me to look more closely at everyday things. I didn’t really look at things but now I look closer at things around me. It made me more aware of things."

"It helped me learn different things about the way organisms live. It made me want to grow something."

"I learned many things about plants and animals. This all would make no sense if we didn’t see it happen, plants growing and animals living."

"We can work in the garden and have fun times. We can do experiments/draw pictures. I now love plants. I hope to plant my own garden this summer. I want it to be very rich. I want to grow food and flowers."