Our elementary school, beginning with three fourth grade teachers and one Life Skills teacher will initially be involved in creating the garden and setting up nesting places for native bees. The entire school, including parents, community partners, will become a part of this project in a sustainable and ongoing educational experience for future years. We will start the garden planning in 2018 with phases to be completed each year. The garden will become a school legacy for the school community. A Planning Committee of students, parents, teachers, community experts will guide the garden planning process and donations, along with fundraising events and volunteer activities.
We will be partnering with local master gardeners, beekeepers, local permaculture designers, as well as San Juan County Agriculture Extension Agents and a biologist from our local college. In creating a school garden, we will also request donations and support from local construction supply companies, landscape nurseries, and local colleges.
We will plant large raised bed gardens focused on planting and harvesting a FALL garden (kale, broccoli) and native plants and herbs.We are focusing on native bees because of the educational opportunity they provide our students in learning about them in balance to the more recognized honey bee. The garden is designed by Don Cowick, permaculture designer.
We are delighted for this rich authentic, hands-on project learning opportunity for our school community with grant support from Whole Kids Foods and donations from area businesses. We appreciate the generosity and visionary activism of these organizations for our school community.
Fourth graders and their teachers will be responsible for maintaining a digital scrapbook of the planning, implementation and daily journal of the garden/native bees with the theme of Bee Concerned! Animas School Garden. UNM teacher education students will assist young gardeners in creating and maintaining their blog documenting their learning alongside master gardeners.
The school garden will provide authentic experiences for student learning about wellness and hands on learning opportunities in a natural outdoor setting. Animas School Garden will be more of a teaching garden rather than a production garden. The garden will emphasize a healthy appreciation of the food we eat, different kinds of food and to see foods in their natural state of being before manipulated and packaged. A focus on traditional Navajo herbs and plants will become part of the garden experience.
Additionally, fourth grade student and Life Skills students will learn about the nesting behaviors of different native bees at Farmington Nature Center by Education Specialist Donna Thatcher. They will apply what they learned about native bees by creating nesting areas and homes for native bees throughout the garden. Katrina Bryant will assist fourth grade teachers with a garden curriculum during the school year. Master Gardeners Beverly Todd and Sarah Teafanov will teach students about planting and seed preparation during the year. Fourth graders will create a documentary about creating the garden and making homes for native bees. They will become garden docents by sharing and passing on their expertise to other students.
During Summer in June, July and August, there will be a summer opportunities for parents and students to continue building the garden under the guidance of community expert partners. Bonnie Hopkins, NMSU Agriculture Extension will also be involved in sharing expertise about the Farmington Farmer’s Market and Ideas for Cooking and Nutrition (ICAN), free hands-on nutrition education program.