Contact: Lesli Moylan
Phone: 573-657-1664
E-mail: sobocogarden@gmail.com
Web Site: http://sobocolearninggarden.wikispaces.com
County: Boone

Two parents (Lesli Moylan & Jenny Grabner) started the Learning Garden in the fall of 2007 as an after-school club for 3rd and 4th graders. Lesli and I believe strongly in the value of hands-on experiential education. We also wanted to do something to address the growing problems of childhood obesity, poor nutrition and food choices, and lack of connection to the natural environment and to our agricultural heritage. Lesli and I worked with 15 students (plus our own kids) in the fall of 2007, and 15 new students the following spring semester, 2008. Since then, we have enjoyed amazing support both from the school and from our community, and the program has grown tremendously over the past 2 years! The after-school club is now open to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and we offer 2 separate sessions each week. Last spring we began working during the school day with the preschool and elementary special education teachers and saw tremendous excitement and learning with those students. This year, we are now working with all grade levels (pre-k through 5th grade) at our primary and elementary buildings on garden projects which help reinforce and enhance the current classroom curricula. The program is funded entirely by grants and donations, and is staffed completely by volunteers (parents, teachers, grandparents, etc.).

We grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers at the Southern Boone Learning Garden. We use cold-frames and greenhouses to grow cool-season greens and vegetables during the winter as well. Students participating in the after-school program learn basic vegetable and flower gardening skills, help maintain the various beds and plantings from other school projects, and create garden-related eco-art projects. We do a variety of projects with different classes and grade levels. Examples include making toad houses with 2nd graders to tie in with their 'Frog & Toad' unit (based on Arnold Lobel's books); building a stone sundial with 5th and 1st graders to tie in to 5th grade algebra lessons and 1st grade's 'learning to tell time' and 'Earth, sun, and planets' units.

Number of Kids Involved: 650
Square Feet of Gardens: 3000

Grades Involved:

• K - 4
• 5 - 8

We are interested in being E-Mail Pals and would like to exchange:
We are interested in exchanging ideas and experiences for the following: -school greenhouses (size, design, etc.) -program evaluation & documentation -using the garden to enhance classroom learning objectives -making the garden as student-led as possible -developing an overall garden design/master plan

How our project is helping kids grow:
Our current approach for the Southern Boone Learning Garden is sort of 3-pronged: 1) The after-school program provides hands-on activities and education. This program seems to be especially attractive for students who may not be interested in other extracurricular activities (like sports). This program seems to fill an after-school gap for many kids. 2) The Learning Garden offers classroom teachers a hands-on tool to reinforce subjects they're already teaching. It provides a beautiful, fun, outdoor space that is welcoming and safe. Often times this change in learning environment allows kids who have a hard time focusing in the classroom to really 'get it' in the garden. We see this especially with the SPED groups, but also with 'regular' classes as well. 3) We're doing a Harvest of the Season program with 2nd grade. For 1 week each season we choose a theme (fall=pumpkins; winter=salad; spring=honey) we bring in a local farmer who grows that product. The students learn how the food is grown, harvested, distributed, prepared, and eaten. All instruction (reading, writing, math, art, music, PE, etc.) for that week centers around that theme. It's basically a 'seed to table' concept to help the kids make connections between the food they eat, their local environment, healthy food choices, and other cross-curricular concepts.

Gardening Contexts/Emphases:

• Outdoor, Vegetables
• Outdoor, Flowers
• Trees
• Community Service
• Pond / Wetland
• Intergenerational
• Nutrition / Hunger
• Garden Business
• Special Needs
• Multicultural
• Garden Art
• Habitat Creation / Restoration
• Greenhouse
• Weather Stations
• Garden Themes
• Vermiculture (worms)
• Composting

Level of Student Participation (hours/week/child): 1-2

Number of Participating Teachers: 5

Number of Participating Parents / Volunteers: 20

Number of Parent / Volunteer Participation (hours/week/person): 5+

Funding Sources:

• $ Donations
• In-Kind Donations
• Grants

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