Gordon previously had a heavily-used, attractive garden. The teacher in charge of the garden retired years ago and the garden was completely neglected during COVID. Some of the boards were rotted, so - for student safety - beds had to be removed.
We would like to replace the garden and set it up to be a functional space for students to have hands-on experiences connected to their curriculum as well as a peaceful space to work or take a movement break.
“I would like [the garden] back now!!!!!!” - Jacob
“When we have the garden, we could let some kids…pick…a little bit of stuff to eat or we could have flowers to make Gordon more beautiful.” - Vivi
“It’s a great idea, but it’s going to take a lot of money.” - Michael
There is a wide body of research indicating that natural, outdoor spaces promote positive mental health and inspire learning.
The purpose of this project is to reestablish a garden space that would provide these benefits for Gordon students in a way that is functional and sustainable for staff. This garden space would be used for:
Hands-on opportunities to make curriculum come to life. In a garden, students can see, touch, and smell concepts such as life cycles, seed spread, needs of living things, and the impact of humans on their environment. Life and earth science is happening in front of their eyes, not only in a book.
Half of the grade levels have reading content that aligns with activities connected to a garden space. Half of the grade levels have science units that align with garden activities. For example, 2nd graders learn about cycles in nature in their reading curriculum and plants in their science curriculum. The garden very easily connects to these learning goals.
An outdoor work space for learning beyond science. In the past, this area has been used for students to work on adding more sensory details to their writing, reading, created artwork, building projects with a partner, or completing math worksheets. Sometimes changing the location of learning can change the mood of the classroom or spark new creativity.
A break space for recharging and moving. Multiple classes routinely take short outside breaks in this area. Currently there is a field with no supplies, a small covered area that leaks, and a paved area that used to be the center of the garden. This could be better! For example, in my class during ten minute break times in past years, students have chosen to work on weeding, looked for insects, examined plants, and played invented games. Taking the classroom outside gives students a chance to connect with each other and their environment in a different way.
One goal of the program - beyond putting in the garden itself - would be to make this space easily accessible to teachers. In the recent past the poorly maintained space was a barrier for student access, because it would require significant teacher time to be functional. Part of this project is establishing volunteers to help maintain the garden and planting appropriate plants based on the needs and usage of each grade level.
It provides all students with a chance to experience key science concepts. Some students have generous gardens at home and have ample hands-on experience with plants. It is easy for them to learn related life science concepts, because it is just putting names to things they have been observing for years.
Other students live in apartments with poor lighting or have parents who have no time or interest in maintaining plants. These students benefit the most from a school garden, because they have few real life examples to make academic content relatable. For example, growing seeds in class in the windowsill doesn’t provide the same level of understanding of plant needs as trying to figure out why your sunflowers aren’t thriving in your class garden bed.
It helps students build background knowledge for reading. Students who have worked in the garden can better understand - for example - the experience of someone weeding on a farm in the 1800s, so will have a deeper understanding of that type of scene in literature. For anotoher example, they are also more likely to be able to visualize the descriptions of different types of soil in a scientific textbook.
Having a shared experience or goal connects people. Sometimes students with different abilities struggle to find their place in a classroom that is supposed to follow a set curriculum to a set pacing guide. Everyone can garden. A garden space is an opportunity for kids to work together on a different playing field than in the classroom.
It’s a chance for students to experience success. Last year, I tried to fix up one of the garden beds (before the rotting boards were discovered) by allowing students to weed during outside breaks. Most days, I had a couple of kids ask to spend their break working in the garden. More often than not these kids were kids struggling: Maybe academics weren’t coming easily, maybe they had a tough home life, maybe they didn’t have a lot of friends yet. I think having something where they could have control and quickly see the impact they made gave them a feeling of pride. Other students often complimented their skill and then they worked a little harder. I think it’s incredibly important to offer many varied opportunities for children to experience success. Children who need a little extra success are often drawn to this type of space.