School Garden Ideas©
Posted: Sunday, September 07, 2008
by Arlene Wright-Correll
http://www.learn-america.com
Mostly urban schools have school gardens. Should your child go to school in suburbia then perhaps they will be lucky enough to have a school garden or something that relates to it like a school green house.
Here is Kentucky many schools have gardening programs that include school gardens. One such one is Kentucky Garden is one of Cleveland's oldest and finest community gardens located on the near west side of Cleveland in the historic Ohio City District on West 38th Street off of Franklin and just north of Fairview Park. This garden has been around for over 60 years starting with a WWII garden and a community garden into a school garden. It is a totally organic garden.
A school garden teaches a child nature, plants, the outdoor life and gardening incorporates the use of math and science to say nothing of the arts and design in gardening.
If your school does not have one and you want to start one, look before you leap. A school garden is a very big responsibility. A school garden does not necessarily have to start with a plot of land.
I remember one of our teachers having us bring in the old wax covered milk containers. We cut them in about thirds using the bottom as the planter. She had a bag of dirt and some seeds. We children filled those cartons up, planted our seeds, watered them daily as they sat on the window ledges at school in the sun and we watched them grow. We eagerly went to school each day to see what was happening.
The internet is full of information on this subject and a good place to start is with the National Gardening Association.
What is needed is a dedicated teacher who wants to do this. It might also include some parents who can spare the time during the day to help get this organized.
Involve the kids in the planning stages. Teach them what gardening zone they live in. Have them look up seeds for their zone. Teach them the difference between heirloom seeds and hybrid seeds. Teach them why organic gardening is good for the planet and their food.
If you have no one to do this and you still want to do something along these lines and you have the area in your yard for a garden, then consider starting a community Youth Gardening Club or league. They have all kids of sports leagues for kids, why not a gardening league for those who do not like sports. Even special children can do gardening if you consider large high planter that make the work easy for them.
Put your thinking cap on. Get a couple of parents involved. Does your 4H have something that resembles a school garden?
Who knows what seed you may plant in the mind of a future horticulturist or gardener?
"Tread the Earth Lightly" and in the meantime May your day be filled with
Peace, Light and Love,
Author's note: This article was originally written for GreenThumbArticles.com
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