Global Connections

World Food Day: October 16, 2012

Submitted by sarahp on Fri, 09/28/2012 - 13:30

By:

NGA Staff

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Download this free classroom guide from Kidsgardening and Oxfam America:

World Food Day Classroom Guide for Educators

World Food Day is a great opportunity for students and teachers to understand more about global approaches to ending hunger. This year’s theme is “Agricultural cooperatives—key to feeding the world”. Observing the day as a school or individual classroom is one of the best ways to raise awareness about food instability and other food-related issues like malnutrition. Don’t be intimidated if you don’t know where to start!

World Food Day

Submitted by sarahp on Wed, 10/03/2012 - 00:26

By:

NGA Staff

Right Side Box:

Download this free classroom guide from Kidsgardening and Oxfam America:

World Food Day Classroom Guide for Educators

A Visit to the First Public Children’s Gardens in Asia

Submitted by cynthiad on Sun, 01/08/2012 - 15:28

By:

Min-Hyeong (Jasmine) Kwon with NGA Staff

Children's gardens offer a wonderful avenue for encouraging children to interact with horticulture.Children’s gardens are becoming a popular attraction at botanical gardens and arboretums in Asia. These gardens are destinations designed to provide children and families a safe, outdoor environment that is educational and entertaining. This article features six botanical gardens and arboretums in Asia, highlighting key features that were identified as important to the children’s garden setting.

Taking It To the Bank

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Check out these lesson ideas:
My Seed Bank
Researching the Past, to Discover the Future

Have you ever considered the importance of saving seeds? A seed represents the promise of life -- a new plant in a ready to grow package. It also contains that species’ genetic code including the traits the plant hopes will ensure its survival over the long haul.

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.

Bringing Social Studies to Life in School Gardens

Submitted by sarahp on Wed, 12/22/2010 - 01:48

As students sow, grow, and reap the fruits of school gardens, science and math lessons are naturally relevant. But consider the added possibilities for using school plots as a compelling lens for social studies and history. After all, exploring how food is (and has been) raised, transformed, and consumed across the globe can reveal a lot about communities and cultures, economies, human settlement and migration, changing world views, the influence of geography and climate, and more.

Plants and People - Himalayan Expedition Part 2

Submitted by sarahp on Sun, 08/01/2010 - 19:44

At 14,767 feet (4,500 meters) you've reached the elevation where the high-altitude porters take over. While this exchange is taking place, you mention to one of the guides that you are amazed at how many useful plants there are in the mountains. He tells you that this is nothing compared to the way it used to be. Most of the people you've seen collecting plants are herdsmen who travel up and down the mountainside checking on their livestock. Local collectors either use the plants themselves or sell them in the local market.

Plants and People - Andes Expedition Part 2

Submitted by sarahp on Sun, 08/01/2010 - 16:42

Now that you are more familiar with some plant uses, you try to guess what certain plants might be used for. When you encounter the bluish-purple flowers of Lupinus mutabilis, you immediately guess these plants are used for dyeing. It turns out you are right-the leaves, flowers, and stems of this plant are used to dye cloth. After all you have learned, you are curious about how many of these same plants are used to produce medicine and vitamins sold in the United States. You decide to keep track of the medicinal plants and check when you get back home.

Module 2: Teacher's Guide

Time: 9 days, 30-60 minutes/day

Overview: Students begin their expedition by investigating local and mountain biodiversity and exploring the environmental threats and conservation measures related to the biodiversity of these two areas.

Objectives: To become familiar with local native plants through the investigation of and comparison to native plants in the mountain environment.

National Standards Addressed (attached below)

Food and Culture in the Peace Garden

Submitted by sarahp on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 00:23

Overview

Plants connect us all because all living things depend on them -- air, food, shelter, clothing, even water. For this exercise, students will investigate food plant origins as a way to illustrate 1) cultural diversity 2) how plants provide links among peoples.

Objectives:

Students will: