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The Beginning of a Library Garden

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

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NGA's Own LibraryGardens.org

Libraries have a unique opportunity to provide a visual connection between literature and nature. Grants are available to support library gardens, but often require someone with a vision. National Gardening Association offers assistance in this area. Whether you’re interested in developing a particular theme garden or a garden that encompasses a variety of books, our professional staff of landscape architects, horticulturists and educators can help you develop your vision. Visit Library Gardens for more information about how we can design your library garden which will in turn help you as your seek support for funding the installation of this space.

The Village of Plain City Garden features several animal topiaries named after classic authors.In an effort to preserve the historic Village of Plain City, Ohio, local gardeners and members of the county Master Gardener program pulled their resources to establish a landmark for the town.

Plant a Thankful Gardener

Submitted by sarahp on Sun, 10/28/2012 - 21:56

By:

Sarah Pounders

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Download this month's lesson plans:

Pressed Flower Thank-you Notes

Tree ID

Thanking volunteers and sponsors is an important activity for all youth garden programs. Although appreciation for contributions should be shown year round, Thanksgiving, a holiday rooted in the celebration of harvest, is a great time to present your loyal supporters with a special gift to acknowledge their generous donations of time, talents and funds.

Researching the Past, to Discover the Future

Submitted by sarahp on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 11:54

Grade Level: 8-12

Materials:

Posterboard for six groups of students

Exploration

1. As a class, list what the students think are the most important plants for their nation. Discuss why each of these plants may be on the list. Ask the students to give a general location of where these plants (regions and climates) are grown.

Sugar Snow

Submitted by sarahp on Fri, 01/14/2011 - 20:44

Materials
- Types of sugar (i.e., maple syrup, molasses, white sugar, brown sugar, honey), enough for each student to sample
- Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Share Chapter 7: The Sugar Snow, pg. 117-130. An excellent account of tapping trees for maple sugar. ISBN: 978-0060797508

Cultivating Peace and Cultural Understanding

Submitted by sarahp on Wed, 12/22/2010 - 02:11

One Plot at a Time

“You're learning about different countries around the world so it’s like you're already creating peace by learning about them," says Seryn, a Montessori school student from Louisville, KY. The centerpiece of her living multicultural “textbook” is a schoolyard garden filled with crops that students and chefs turn into dishes from around the globe.

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Peace Garden Materials and Grant

The Muhammad Ali Peace Garden program and grant was created to help teach children to learn about respect for diverse cultures and nutrition by raising their own food with plants from different countries. It is sponsored by Yum! Brands, which has committed $100,000 over four years as an extension of its World hunger Relief effort. Educators around the world can download a free teacher’s guide and grant application forms (available in six languages) by visiting My Peace Garden or National Gardening Association’s Peace Garden Grant page. Hurry! The next grant application deadline is January 5, 2011.

Cultivating Language Bridges in a Bilingual Classroom

Submitted by sarahp on Wed, 12/22/2010 - 00:45

“I saw different types of learners excel and take on different roles in our school garden who didn’t always do so in the classroom,” says Karen Nordstrom, a former teacher in a bilingual elementary classroom in Watsonville, CA. “It’s amazing that a small piece of land could be such a rich inclusive experience for all learners.” That included the many students who were children of migrant farm workers of Mexican descent along with a handful of youngsters who were native English speakers.

English Language Learning Flourishes in a School Garden

Submitted by sarahp on Wed, 12/22/2010 - 00:29

“If you want your students to learn English, give them something they want to talk and write about,” says former middle school science teacher Whitney Cohen. For her students, many of whom were children of California farm workers, a thriving school garden was the hook that inspired writing and speaking – and lifted the spirits of struggling language learners.

English Language Development in the Garden

Submitted by sarahp on Mon, 11/22/2010 - 12:57

Right Side Box:

A Safe Place for Expression

An Australian study that evaluated the effects of school gardening on ESL students' learning about good nutrition reported positive gains in student learning and feelings of belonging to the school community. One ESL teacher described how the freedom of learning outside the classroom allowed ESL students – some from war-torn countries – to explore concepts in a place where they felt safe to express themselves. “The researchers observed that ESL students contributed as fully in the garden activities and were just as eager to describe what they were doing as were their classmates,” said the report. According to teachers, “the students felt a sense of purpose to ensure the plants did not die and in doing so created a bond with fellow students and teachers who shared in maintaining the garden.”

When students learn within an engaging context, they are more apt to feel comfortable and confident, grasp language structures and vocabulary, and build listening, reading, and communication skills. In schoolyard gardens, language-building activities grow out of concrete experiences, hands-on investigations, and natural events. These – and good teaching strategies – motivate youngsters to learn.

Teen Mentors and Third Graders Flourish in Literacy Garden

Submitted by sarahp on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 01:02

Photo by Callie PowellIn Downsville, Louisiana, third grade teacher Donna Alford had a bounty of science-focused books, but no time to dig into them with students. Meanwhile, at the high school next door, teens had worked with community volunteers to bring a greenhouse and garden to life. English and biology teacher Keli Bryan imagined some fertile connections: Create a service learning project in which tenth graders serve as mentors to the third grade reading class by using gardening literature and curricula.

Poetry to Warm Up With

Submitted by sarahp on Sun, 07/25/2010 - 15:10

Here are a few poems featuring plants and nature as subjects to help your students ease into the open, expansive mind-set that poetry invites.

Unless otherwise noted, these poems are in the public domain.

Perfume-Laden Air
by Sugawara Takesue no Musume (Japan, 1009 - 1070)

When from the neighboring garden the perfume-laden air
Saturates my soul with memories,
Rises the thought of the beloved plum tree
Blooming under the eaves of the house which is gone.