School Gardens
What are School Gardens?
School gardens have existed in America since the early 1900s. Community and school gardens were originally created to help foster moral and social skills in children who used the gardens. Maria Montessori--one of the first educators to document the benefits of school gardening--believed that children working in a garden would gain both a moral education and an appreciation of nature.
Benefits
Opportunities for Growth & Interaction
School gardens provide opportunities for students, teachers, and even members of the community to interact. This interaction may help improve interpersonal social skills and can teach students how to work cooperatively with each other and their elders.
By caring for a garden, students learn responsibility, patience, and pride in their work and surroundings. Children can also develop creatively, since no two gardens are alike.
A school garden allows students to work in a non-threatening outdoor environment where they can interact and learn about nature. Studies are finding that students who are allowed to learn in an outdoor environment such as a garden have improved environmental attitudes.
Practical Application of Other Subjects
Teachers throughout the country are discovering how useful and educational gardens can be. A school garden can be used as a teaching resource for practically every subject covered in an elementary school classroom.
Gardens are perfect places for students to learn about plants, insects, weather, and other science-related topics. For example, butterfly gardens provide a unique opportunity for students to see how plants and insects interact, increasing their awareness of how everything in the natural world is connected.
Math lessons--such as measuring, addition, and subtraction--have real-world applications in the garden. Gardens can also be used to teach social studies, where students learn about their own food comes from, as well as how other cultures grow and eat their food.
The school garden is a canvas of art created by nature, giving students inspiration to create their own works of art. The list of applicable art subjects and creative possibilities of the garden is endless.
Maintaining the Garden
Maintaining your garden does not have to become an overwhelming task. By distributing the care of the garden, more students--and maybe their families--can get involved and learn responsibility.
Feelings of ownership and pride are necessary in order for students to want to continue to care for the garden. As each new group of students works in the garden, they will be able to add their own creativity and individuality to the garden, and being involved will help them feel that the garden is theirs.
Funding
Once a budget has been determined--taking into account the cost of supplies such as soil, plants, fertilizers, garden tools, educational supplements, and other miscellaneous items--funding can come from a variety of sources.
- Schools may have already budgeted for a garden project and are more likely to provide funding if the garden is shown to be an educational tool and classroom asset.
- Parent/teacher organizations may have funds to offer, or they may be willing to host a fundraiser.
- Local businesses such as garden and landscaping centers might donate plants and soil and offer expert advice. Other businesses may be willing to help sponsor a garden project.
- Garden clubs may be able to offer monetary support and volunteer assistance, which comes with added garden skills and practical knowledge.
- Local service organizations may help with financial support.
- County Extension offices may be able to provide help with funding and expert advice from agents and Master Gardener volunteers. The local office is also an excellent place to find area-specific information about starting a garden.
For more information, visit the School Gardens section of the Florida School Garden Competition website.
