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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.

Becoming a Horticulture Therapist: From Hobby to Career

Submitted by cynthiad on Mon, 11/07/2011 - 11:07

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

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Discover NGA's Career Connections

Read short bios from each NGA staff member, find out what led them into their careers, and why gardening and connecting with nature is important. Read more »

After spending 20 years as an independent contractor for numerous companies, Lisa Lindmark has found her “best job” as a horticulture instructor at a 600+ patient mental health hospital.

Essay Prompt for 2012-2013 Winners and Survey Links

Submitted by juliad on Mon, 06/11/2012 - 14:06

By:

NGA Staff

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Are you a winner of a National Gardening Association 2012-2013 Grant? Use this page to access your survey URL, essay prompt, or to find out about due dates for these items. If you have any questions, need to access your token number, or need an extension please send us an email.

Congratulations on winning a 2012-2013 Garden Grant from the National Gardening Association! 260 garden programs within the United States and around the world received awards to enhance or begin a garden in their communities. Below you will find helpful information to fulfill required year-end impact reports.

Photos

The Future Can Start in the Garden

Submitted by cynthiad on Tue, 11/15/2011 - 11:59

By:

Cynthia Domenghini, NGA Staff

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Check out this 8-12th grade lesson to get your students learning more about careers in horticulture, Discovering Careers in Horticulture (PDF).

At the Gaylord Opryland Hotel there are over nine acres of indoor gardens. The manager of horticulture at this luxurious resort identifies the beginning of his fascination with plants to first grade. His teacher had students plant zinnia seeds in half egg shells.

Discover the NGA Team's Connection to Horticulture

Submitted by cynthiad on Sun, 11/06/2011 - 11:34

Mike Metallo

Cross-Cultural Gardening: Students from a local horticulture school in Paris create the US Embassy Organic Kitchen Garden

Submitted by cynthiad on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 23:02

By:

Erzsi Deak for NGA

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Garden Recipes from the French Embassy’s Chef

Recently, the embassy hosted an Independence Day celebration that featured fresh herbs and vegetables from the garden. The executive chef at the embassy, Yves Roquel, provided kidsgardening.org with these recipes for kids and adults to enjoy.

Gazpacho du Jardin

3.3 pounds ripe tomatoes
2 red peppers
1 cucumber
2 garlic cloves
2 branches of celery
10 leaves of basil
5 borage flowers for decoration

Wash all the vegetables.Peel the cucumber and celery. Remove the seeds from the pepper. Cut all vegetables into cubes. Shape into cubes. Peel 1 garlic clove. Add basil. Combine the marinade in a large salad bowl:

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Salt to taste
5 tablespoons olive oil

Marinate the vegetables overnight and the next morning. Blend in food processor. Serve in a soup bowl. Decorate with borage flowers.

Madeleine à la verveine

4.4 oz clarified or sweet butter
634 oz de sucre
4 eggs
.26 oz baking powder
1.7 oz cornstarch
7 oz flour
1.7 oz of milk
10 verbena leaves
Powdered sugar

Melt the butter and put aside to cool. Beat eggs and sugar together until light. Add cooled butter to egg and sugar mixture. In another bowl, mix together cornstarch, flour and baking powder. Place milk and verbena in a saucepan and warm over low heat. Mix all the ingredients together and store in refrigerator overnight.

Next day: Preheat oven to 450 F (220-240 C). Grease the Madeleine mold with clarified butter. Spoon chilled batter into molds. Bake for 6 to 10 minutes or until golden. Cool for five minutes. Remove from mold.

When completely cool, dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Susan Tolson, the wife of the US Ambassador to France, loves to buy organic fruits and vegetables and cook healthy meals. While she claims not to have a “pouce vert” (green thumb), she is enthusiastic about supporting First Lady Michelle Obama in her quest for better nutrition through education in the garden and on the table.

Garden Safety

Submitted by cynthiad on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 14:27

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Download Safety Checklist

A school garden is an outdoor classroom laboratory, attracting countless organisms, each a great opportunity to teach students about the complex and fascinating ecosystem that we are a part of. Gardening provides “on-site” opportunities for students to explore, create and inquire, even in the most resource-strapped schools.

Baking Bread to Nurture Cultural Understanding

Submitted by sarahp on Wed, 12/22/2010 - 02:45

When Ginger Clarke’s kindergarteners participated in the harvesting of their first school garden, yanking zucchini was surely a highlight. But then came the taste test. “None of the kids liked it either raw or cooked,” says Ginger. Determined to find a way to get students to try the versatile vegetable, Ginger invited the class to use it to make bread from scratch. It was a hands-down hit. “The kids were amazed by how much they loved it,” she explains.

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.

Research Confirms It: Kids Need Green Space!

Submitted by sarahp on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 23:56

Garden-based educators know that kids connect with nature, use their natural curiosity to make discoveries and solve problems, and get their developmental needs met in the garden. Research shared by presenters at the 2005 American Horticultural Society’s annual Children & Youth Garden Symposium confirms the power and importance of the work we do at NGA. In turn, it gives credence to gardening as a way to help children become healthy, capable, and well balanced.