Planning Pays Off

Elementary science teacher Steve Tomsik feels that it is his primary job to get his students into the garden as much as possible because of the great extensions between knowledge and exploration. “Although many of our students live near [the park] and use it regularly, their experience with the science behind plants has been limited previously to our science lab…[the garden] makes teaching things like nutrition, botany, life science and chemistry more seamless, and allows students a chance to make real-life connections to the content they receive at school,” he shares. His role as teacher and garden advocate were part of an incredible team effort which contributed to the overwhelming success of the inaugural year (2008-2009) of the Sunshine Garden at the John W. Kimball Learning Center, P.S.107, in Brooklyn, New York.

Planning, organizing, and developing support are key to the proper function of a school garden. P.S.107’s grassroots project began as a yearlong effort that involved PTA members, community volunteers, teachers, school administrators, students, local merchants, and garden organizers who were involved during various stages of its development. “Parent volunteers were critically important,” says Michele Israel, Chair of the PTA Garden Committee, “The [garden] unfolded during the year due to the dedication and continuous involvement of twenty parent volunteers on the PTA Garden Committee. Each member offered a unique expertise, from gardening to marketing to event planning to community outreach.” Their concern for gaining widespread support for the project definitely contributed to its firm establishment.

The garden was designed to enhance over 480 Pre-K through fifth graders’ engagement with science, nutrition, and the environment. The outdoor classroom centers upon inquiry-based learning within the studies of weather, seasons, earth science, plant and animal adaptations, along with the interactions of food, land, and nutrition. Principal Cynthia Holton states, “Our fruit and vegetable garden serves as an outdoor learning lab where students delve into the life and physical sciences and agricultural literacy. They work together to plant and make gardening decisions. They become environmental stewards who grow their appreciation of the natural world. All of this makes for an excellent education.”

The garden exposes students to a variety of fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables. Susan Fields, GreenBridge Manager of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden worked to help the project “embrace many sustainable horticultural practices and seasonal crops. The garden was a springboard for discussion and action around healthy school lunch choices. Crops harvested this year such as lettuce, kale, and peas will nourish student’s bodies as well as their minds and spirits.” As part its long-term design, the school is also involved with a Garden-to-School Café program, an after-school healthy cooking program and maintains a partnership with a neighborhood farmers’ market. Eventually, the school plans to implement new lunch offerings, including the use of their garden produce.

The health goals of the Sunshine Garden extend beyond nutrition, they also nurture students in leadership and environmental stewardship. In a challenge to decrease the total amount of school waste, nine classrooms participated in worm composting. A parent, who also happens to be a science teacher and a “master composter,” trained some teachers in this fine art. During National Gardening Month, students designed posters and flyers speaking to the value of gardening, healthy eating, environmental protection, recycling, reducing electricity usage, and more.

Facing Challenges

On the surface it appears that all the pieces have fallen into place for this school garden, but all gardening projects have challenges and this school is no exception. After the garden had been planted, the committee discovered that the school’s windows would need to be replaced. Large scaffolding was placed all around the school and the garden had to be relocated to twelve EarthBoxes (portable gardening planters). The scaffolding remained in place for the remainder of the first year and well into the second. This reduced the garden space making it difficult for an entire class to use the garden at one time. It also blocked much of the sunlight necessary for the plants to thrive. However, while the garden was not nearly as healthy as it could have been, they worked through the challenge and grew herbs, hardy hot peppers, cucumbers, few tomatoes, and some nice eggplants.

The garden also faced other obstacles such as pests, birds, weather, and discouragement during the second year. “Gardening is a challenge,” states Israel, “we don’t want the momentum to disappear so we will keep going; it’s a lot of trial and error as we learn.”  The PTA gardening committee is working now in the third year to hire a garden specialist who will work with the teachers to assist them in constructing curriculum and basic gardening techniques that will allow them to make the garden a full part of school programming. Israel also notes, “the teachers are swamped in the schools and we recognize that learning to garden may just not be possible for them.” They hope bridging the gap with a gardening specialist will ease some of their burden and make it more meaningful for all. “The after-school gardening programs are also successful because these smaller focus groups can do lots of great things that are hard for teachers to accomplish during the school day,” she said.

Notwithstanding these challenges, Israel remains very optimistic about the future, “the garden really has become a model of success,” she states. The garden expanded last year to seventeen EarthBoxes and several half-whiskey barrel planters. They also acquired a portable greenhouse and several teachers now have AeroGrow gardens to introduce students to hydroponic gardening. The Sunshine Garden is an example of positive impact. It has shown that even in the most urban environments and despite unforeseen challenges, successful school gardening is possible.

The National Gardening Association was pleased to support this well-designed garden program with a $500 Youth Garden Grant in 2009. The Sunshine Garden is an official garden of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation GreenThumb and also a member of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Project GreenBridge Community Garden Alliance.