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Why This Project?
Why This Project?
During our Environmental Studies class, The Poet's Society team will have a unit on nutrition, the environment, and the community impacts of agriculture. At the beginning of the school year, our team engages in an open house that community organizations and partners are often a part of; Common Roots is an organization that is already involved in our community and is engaged in nutritional and environmental education. This project will not only be centered in our Science curriculum, but will also reach into other subjects to create an interdisciplinary approach to real world issues.
Preparation
Preparation
For this project, we will prepare students by teaching them about how to be healthy, eat healthy, and the steps along the way to doing this. We will watch some educational videos that are provided on the Common Roots website to help give us some background knowledge on the topics that will be addressed in the lessons. We will teach them the steps when it comes to growing food, and what to do with the scraps after eating; students will also learn about proper and improper nutrition, and food waste. The curriculum will extensively cover the environmental impact of growing certain foods over others, the impact of malnutrition, and the community surrounding farming and agriculture.
Action
Action
In this project, there will be three elements for students to apply their understanding. First, Students will conduct a school wide survey to gain more information on how fresh food and farms affect their peers and their families. With that information, students will then work with common routes to build raised bed gardens, and grow and harvest a portion of vegetables to serve in our school lunch program.
Additionally, students will offer the excess produce in a mini school farmers market; students will be able to offer both raw produce and goods made from the harvest. Teaching the process of farm to table will help our students gain understanding of the environment and the farming community, and a connection with the people who make it possible.
Reflection and Demonstration
Reflection and Demonstration
During the final portion of the project, students will demonstrate their knowledge of farming processes and environmental impacts in a mini farmer's market. Students will work in pairs of two or three to create a booth, research prices of produce and the effect of the production on the environment, and then present their findings and products to staff and students.
Following the farmer's market, students will be asked to think about the process in a written or oral reflection. They will describe things that worked well, things that were challenging, how they could make the process better, what they learned as a result of the project, and how it connects to their life going forwards.
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