2nd Place Organic Silver Award
Maharishi School
Fairfield, Iowa

Educational use of the garden. The permaculture style garden is housed in a 3,900 square foot greenhouse adjacent to the School building. The greenhouse serves as a learning center where students in grades K-12 learn concepts of organic growing, from soil preparation to harvesting. The greenhouse courtyard is also home to a garden, complete with a fruit orchard and butterfly garden.

Garden maintenance. The garden is maintained by students with the guidance of the adult garden project leader. Each grade of students has a special interest in different aspects of the garden; i.e. soil preparation, planting, transplanting, watering, weeding, harvesting, composting, and mulching. All of our students participate in each of these gardening activities.

Social aspect of the garden. As the garden continues to grow year round, the garden coordinator organizes the students and their families (as well as community volunteers) to take care of the garden. This has proven to be a wonderful way to invite families to share in the joy of the garden. High school students can often be found sitting on the swinging bench in the greenhouse eating a freshly-picked vegetable snack. All of the students enjoy their lessons in the garden and visitors to the School view the garden activity as part of a school tour.

Students’ involvement in the garden. Students help plan where to locate plants, and then plant, tend, and harvest the garden vegetables and flowers. Often, students come into the School on Saturday to work in the garden. Students are supervised in these efforts by their teachers who integrate the gardening activities into their themes of learning. Teachers use the garden to illustrate universal principles related to phenomena in the natural world; as examples of science concepts; and as springboard inspiration for creative writing. Teachers also teach concepts of organic growing versus conventional gardening within the context of science learning.

Use of the garden’s produce. Vegetables, herbs, flowers, and seedlings are sold to school families, faculty, and the community. Organic, non-genetically-engineered food is highly valued by families of the School and because of this, they want to purchase freshly-picked produce and serve it to their families. We are a small, private school and we use the garden as a resource of funds for school projects as well as a learning site. During the school year, produce is sold in front of the school twice each week as parents come to the School to pick up their children. Produce is also sold at the local farmer’s market during the warmer months of the year. Students and teachers are also free to use the flowers for their classrooms or events.

Impact on students. The students are learning to grow their own food in a sustainable way. They are learning basic principles of organic gardening versus conventional gardening techniques. These points are strongly emphasized since we are located in a rural farming community and are surrounded by farmers who use conventional farming methods. The teachers emphasize organic growing principles to reduce the amount of herbicides and pesticides in order to keep our water clean and ecological systems healthy. Organic growing principles are also demonstrated to be a means to better quality, nutrition, and taste of the produce.

We also teach permaculture principles of growing food. Students learn that interconnectedness is the key to permaculture design; that efficient and effective design requires the connecting placement of different elements; and that the needs of one element are filled by the yields of another element.

Sustainability an important concept that students learn at our School and it is emphasized through the garden lessons. Students in grades four through twelve learn to utilize mulch instead of herbicides. They also learn the negative impact of insecticides and pesticides on rivers, lakes, and soils. Students become familiar with composting and learn how to build the quality of the soil by adding compost to planting beds. Rainwater is harvested from the greenhouse roof to reduce water consumption and eliminate toxic substances from the plants. Students are saving seeds from our garden to perpetuate heirloom seeds. Biological pest control is incorporated into the garden by small ponds that attract frogs and toads to help maintain a healthy balance of life in the greenhouse: water hyacinths grow in the pond to keep the water clean. Research has shown that the growth of plants can be influenced by various types of music. In our greenhouse, we play classical Eastern music which enlivens harmony in the environment. These concepts are explained as sustainable practices that preserve and enhance the environment.

Most of all, the students are learning the joy of gardening! Almost anyone who walks into the greenhouse will say, "This place makes me happy!"