Theme: Service Learning
— Helping Kids and Communities Grow
Cross-Grade Buddies Plant Garden Companions
by Eve Pranis
When an ugly portable classroom was removed at Rolling Hills
Elementary, an inner-city school with a high at-risk population,
kindergarten teacher Karen Redel and fourth grade teacher
Laurie Wedewer saw green. After all, their apartment-dwelling
students in Orlando, FL, assumed veggies only came in packages.
With visions of a cross-grade food garden project that would
offer fourth graders a chance to take leadership roles, the
teachers established mentoring teams, each consisting of
a fourth grade leader and several kindergarten "buddies."
Armed with fiction and nonfiction gardening books and Internet
information, each team was challenged to create its vision
of an ideal Florida garden. The partners had to design the
layout (area and perimeter) of individual raised beds and mark
vegetable plant locations. After all teams had presented their
designs, the class discussed modifications and voted on a final
garden layout.
Buddies Learn About Garden Companions
Through their research, the students discovered that certain
vegetables "get along" better with each other,
so the class planned its design to feature different arrangements
of garden companions. For example, they learned that beans
planted near lettuce could shade the heat-sensitive greens.
Marigolds, which are said to be a natural pesticide, were
partnered with tomatoes. Students relished the idea that
onions could be juiced up into an organic bug repellent! "The
kids discovered that if they planted watermelon seedlings
toward the end of pea season, the pea plants would shade
the tender seedlings," explains Karen. "Once the
peas were removed, the watermelons used the pea trellis."
The partners learned that this plant buddy system—growing
a variety of vegetables with different needs—can even help
maintain healthy soil. The nutrient that one plant uses, in
some cases, can be replenished by other plants. Corn, for instance,
is a glutton for nitrogen, whereas peas and beans (with a little
help from bacteria on their roots) can actually make nitrogen
in the air available to other plants via the soil.
The teams worked together to clean the garden space, plot
and stake the beds, and prepare the soil. Once they'd figured
out when to plant each type of seed or seedling, they created
and followed planting calendars. "The older kids took
their roles very seriously and kept their buddies involved
and focused on tasks," says Laurie.
Lunchbox Club Gives Back to the School and Community
Enthusiastic about their partnerships, the garden buddies were
dismayed to realize that, come fall, they would move on to
different grades and have to part ways. The solution? Creating
an after-school Lunchbox Garden Club open to the diverse
K-5 student body. (Club dues take the form of canned goods,
which are donated to the local food bank.) In addition to
maintaining the garden, club members taste-test produce before
sending weekly harvests to the school cafeteria for salad
bars, brewed mint iced tea, and more. They also use their
newfound skills for community service projects, such as re-landscaping
a neighboring church property, and for leading garden tours
and lessons on seedling care for the school and community.
Next, they have their sights set on creating how-to videos
and introducing a garden mascot ("Corney"), who
will challenge other classrooms with plant science trivia
in preparation for spring assessments.
How They Grew
"
The garden has helped to blur grade levels by bringing teachers
and students together into a group of ‘farmers,'" explain
Karen and Laurie. "Garden club members continue to brag
about their green-thumb efforts, and we receive positive feedback
from parents and teachers about the kids' academic and social
skills." The teachers attribute improved behaviors to
the fact that the youngsters had to work cooperatively to accomplish
tasks and to the sense of ownership and responsibility that
emerged. "Kids have bloomed from apathetic, reluctant
learners to enthusiastic, inquisitive learners eager to reach
out to the neighborhood," adds Karen.
"For a campus that has experienced a significant amount
of vandalism, our garden seemed to create a level of reverence
and respect," she says. "The club members model for
a growing number of curious students how to look without touching,
investigate without trampling, and smell without destroying."
The
Rolling Hills Lunchbox Garden Club is
one of the twelve school gardens featured in our book Schoolyard
Mosaics: Designing Gardens and Habitats. It features
brilliant detailed school garden maps — from butterfly
oases to history
gardens
— along with how-to advice and companion stories on how
students made decisions, built community support, and achieved
learning goals. You'll also find scads of useful resources
— Web sites, Listservs, books, articles, videos, and supplies. Click
here to learn more or order. Members
save 10%
© 2007
National Gardening Association