Changes in environments

Know Your Food

Submitted by cynthiad on Mon, 08/13/2012 - 16:05

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

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The 2012 Food Day School Curriculum was designed for educators as a Food Day resource that can be used in the classroom or to increase your own knowledge about what it means to Eat Real: Download the 2012 Food Day School Curriculum

Many times gardening is promoted as a way to teach youth where their food comes from. This phrase, “know where your food comes from,” is one that has received much attention and rightfully so.

Sharing the Love: Spreading Seeds

Submitted by RoseJM on Mon, 06/11/2012 - 00:00

By:

Rose Judd-Murray, NGA Staff

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How-To: Make A Seed Bomb

Materials:

Clay (purchase at craft stores)
Compost or potting soil
Seeds (we recommend easy-to-grow or native varieties)

Bring this activity home, or share it in the classroom with these easy step-by-step directions (PDF). »

Taking a walk together as a family is a great way to teach your kids about varieties of flowers, shrubs, and trees. It's an unstressful time to engage and allow them to ask questions about their own local environment.

Compost Happens

By:

Jean Persely for NGA with Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

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Jean shares some of her ideas to get kids interested in composting:

Ask students what happens to blue jeans and t-shirts in the landfills? Can they be composted?
Ask for an old cotton t-shirt and/or an old pair of jeans to be donated. Place them at the bottom of the compost pile, or use a smaller piece for a worm bin. Do the students realize they are wearing plants? How long will it take to break down? Have students make guesses as to what will happen to these old clothes.
Do you have multiple working compost bins at school? Have a t-shirt composting race with another class. Which class will have a faster compost pile? What causes one compost bin to decompose materials faster than the other? Was one pile being turned more than the other? Take the temperature inside the pile. Is one pile hotter than the other?
Consider doing an experiment with a piece of a t-shirt in one pile and a plastic bottle in another. Let the students predict what will happen.

As the wife of an active duty Marine, Jean Persely has made the most of her frequent moves by teaching others to “bloom where they are planted.” Jean has committed to making a positive impact on any community she joins. It was in 2005, that Jean developed a vision to impact a school community by planning the introduction of a garden.

School Gardens = Natural Playgrounds

Submitted by cynthiad on Mon, 08/13/2012 - 15:07

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

Right Side Box:

Teachers at the K-State Center for Child Development use the produce from the garden to prepare simple dishes with their students. Here’s a recipe for Caprese Salad that is easy to make in a classroom.

Ingredients:

Thick slices of a Ripe Tomato (enough for each child to have at least one)
An equal number of slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
Twice as many leaves of fresh basil
A pinch of salt and pepper
Olive oil

Make sure everyone washes their hands and the work surface prior to touching the food.

Starting at the edge of a serving platter, place a slice of tomato, a basil leaf, a slice of mozzarella and another basil leaf. Continue in that pattern, forming a spiral from the outside in, until all the ingredients have been arranged. The salad should end in the center of the platter. Drizzle the salad with olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper and salt.

Upon arriving at the Center for Child Development (CCD) on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, visitors quickly recognize the uniqueness of the facility.

Holding Onto the Garden — Environmental Sustainability

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff with Carol Fraser

“We make decisions in the garden based on what is good for the earth, not solely what is good for our short-term needs.” (Hurricane High School, Hurricane, WV)

Promoting Environmental Stewardship through Rain Gardens

By:

Ann English for NGA with Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

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How to Design a Rain Garden

This detailed account provides step-by-step instructions for designing, installing, and maintaining a rain garden. Additional content provided to use this as a high school activity. Download How to Design a Rain Garden (PDF) »

Rain Garden at Coolidge High School, Washington DCSchool gardens have a long and successful history with a variety of purposes. Ninety six percent of the 2010-2011 National Gardening Assoc

One Stop for Your Garden-Based Education: A Garden in Every (Home)School

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

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Keep your Students Learning over the Winter Break!

Here are some fun activities you can send home with your students over the winter break to keep them engaged. You may even consider encouraging your students to get their parent's involved and complete these activities by offering extra credit when they return from winter break.

K-5th grade activity: How to Create a Moss Garden »

5th-12th grade activity: Serving Nutrition at Home »

Successful school gardening with kids in any situation requires a set of great resources. Having resources that enable you to seamlessly use the garden to enhance the core curricular areas makes your job, as the teacher, that much easier.

Teaching Kids about Sunlight, Wind & Microclimatic Conditions

Submitted by pauls on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 17:37

By:

Paul Simon, Landscape Architect

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To learn more about sunlight, wind and microclimatic conditions, download our activity handout.

Throughout the year, the use of the space surrounding your home is directly impacted by the regional climate. It includes hot and cold temperatures, direct sunlight, shade, forceful winds and gentle breezes. The immediate area surrounding the home is called the microclimate.

Mountains as Water Sources - Andes Expedition Part 1

Submitted by sarahp on Sun, 08/01/2010 - 19:45

When you climb out of the tent this morning, there is a blanket of snow on everything. How beautiful! The sun is shining and although the air is cold, you know that by noon most of it will have melted and the mountain people will shed their heavier clothing and seek refuge from the sun.

Mountains as Biodiversity Hotspots - Appalachain Expedition Part 2

Submitted by sarahp on Sun, 08/01/2010 - 16:13

Mountain logging site. Photo: Library of CongressYou've just been fortunate to witness the incredible diversity of plant life on Blair Mountain. Unfortunately, many of these plants are in danger. In addition to the threat of mountaintop mining, these plants are threatened by logging, agricultural practices, and tourist activities. These threats exist because people have discovered the vast resources-from fun to wood-that mountains have to offer and they are taking advantage of them.