In 2022-2023, Life Lab operated garden classrooms, each with a full-time garden teacher, in ten schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. The classrooms serve a student population in which more than three in five students are multilingual learners and more than four in five are considered economically disadvantaged. In addition, 10% of students are migrant students and 14% do not have permanent housing. The implementation of the Life Lab School Gardens Program in every elementary school in the district is an ambitious goal that is well underway. This year, each garden classroom provided curriculum and learning opportunities aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). 

This report is the result of a study undertaken by researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz with the goal of learning more about the Life Lab School Gardens Program. We observed an exceptional program that provided opportunities for student engagement in science learning while fostering a sense of belonging. Our analysis suggests that participation in the garden classroom program has a positive and statistically significant impact on students' attitudes and beliefs about science and nature and on their science learning. Students who participated in the garden classrooms were more likely to believe that they could be scientists; there was a statistically significant increase in their agreement to the statement, “I can be a scientist.” There was also an increase in their actual science learning across three core areas: what scientists do (the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices), what scientists know (the NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas), and how scientists think (the NGSS Crosscutting Concepts)

"Students are learning to build trellises as an extension of their engineering units. Students are watching life cycles before their eyes during worm exploration time. Parents with cooking and carpentry skills have been leading other parents in the continued enhancement of our learning space. "

These observations of a school principal highlight the varied opportunities students have to engage in doing science in the garden classroom. By including families and involving students in solving real problems in the garden, students are able to be legitimate participants in a community working together to build a learning space. These types of community involvement and project-based learning can support students in developing a positive self-concept in science.

In this section, we review the pre- and post-assessment results for each dimension on which they were scored and supplement these with vignettes from the ethnographic observations. For each dimension, we used the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and observed significantly higher scores on all three dimensions: Disciplinary Core Ideas (Z=-11.46, p < .001), Science and Engineering Practices (Z=-10.33, p < .001), and Crosscutting Concepts (Z=-8.76, p < .001). Furthermore, because the sample size was sufficiently large, we were able to perform paired t-tests that describe the size of the increase for each dimension. The figures below display the mean scores on the pre-test (green bars) and post-test (blue bars) for each.

Sticky seeds in the orchard - Semillas pegajosas en el huerto

Eager students gather around the garden teacher as she says in a mysterious voice, "I am practicing to be a magician. I'm going to turn you all into animals." As she hands pairs of students squares of furry fabric, each one really does seem to turn into a tiny mammal - crouching, growling, meowing, and hopping. The group makes its way to the "orchard" - a lovely hillside behind some classroom buildings dotted with fruit trees.

Pairs of "animals" scamper up and down the hill, laughing, calling out "Look at this!", and pressing their fabric squares into the dried grasses and rocky soil. Sure enough - seeds cling to the fabric, and the students race back to the teacher to show what they found. 

Back in the garden classroom, the students use child-sized magnifying glasses to examine the seeds embedded in their "fur". Up and down picnic tables protected from the sun by a canopy and surrounded by growing things, the children bend over their treasures, carefully drawing what they see. "It has spikes!" one calls out. "¡Espinas!" says another. 

On a large piece of paper in the center of the classroom space is written, "I think ____ allowed the seed to cling to the blanket." The children caption their drawings by completing the sentence. As they finish they wander around with their magnifying glasses, eager to explore more tiny things in the garden. 

The life of a flower - La vida de una flor

It is first thing in the morning, but the second-graders sit up straight on benches made of wooden planks and tree stumps. They seem excited to be in the garden classroom. The Garden Teacher explains that they are going to search all over the garden and find the most beautiful, healthy-looking flower they can. She then teaches them an important lesson in sustainability - "Only pick a flower if there are more than ten of them on the plant. That is the Rule of Ten." 

The students search the garden. Some rush in, grab the first flower they find that seems healthy and plentiful. Others take their time, deliberating between blooms. When all the students have a flower the teacher presents the next challenge. "Now find a flower that is older than your flower." As the students approach with their second flowers, she asks "How do you know this one is older?" "It is brown and flopped over," one replies. The students all chat amongst themselves, showing their flowers to their classmates and comparing whose healthy flower is most beautiful and whose older flower is most wizened. They repeat the exercise, this time looking for a flower that looks younger than their original flower. They soon return, small hands clasping tiny buds.

After the flower hunt, the students return to the benches and take careful notes as the Garden Teacher tells the story of a flower becoming a fruit. She uses a tomatillo as her example, and the students diligently draw the stages from bud to blossom to fruit. 

The most exciting part of the lesson happens at the very end when the teacher brings out a basket of snap peas to eat. The children swing their legs and chat happily as they munch on this final stage in the life cycle of a flower. 

Structure and function - Estructura y función

It is a cool, foggy morning and the school grounds seem mysterious as I make my way to the garden classroom. I find it tucked away in a quiet corner under trees. It is lovely and very much makes me wish I were back in second grade. The second graders seem excited to be there too, though their excitement expresses itself in goofy movements and the occasional student bursting into a popular TikTok song, "It's corn!" The Garden Teacher handles their energy with care and empathy and before we all know it, they are seated calmly on benches before a blackboard that contains just four words: Structure. Estructura. Function. Función. 

Structure and function seems like a difficult concept for 7 year-olds, but the teacher starts by connecting to students' at-home experiences. "Who has built with legos?" she asks them. They clamor to share stories of their creations. The students speak in both Spanish and English, and the teacher moves seamlessly between the two languages, often rebroadcasting a student's words in whichever language they didn't speak. When one student shares about building an airplane, the teacher jumps on the opportunity to make the all-important connections. 

"Why does the airplane fly?" 

"Because it has wings!"

"Yes. The wings are the structure. Flying is the function."

Later, they will examine seeds with "helicopter wings" and build models that spin and fly through the air. A concept that seemed quite challenging at first is made clear with hands-on activities and opportunities to connect to lived experiences.