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HomeNewsArchives'No Child Left Inside:' Young Students Learn to Grow

'No Child Left Inside:' Young Students Learn to Grow

June 8, 2009 — On a sunny hillside overlooking the Pearl B. Larsen Elementary School campus sits Pearl's Edible Schoolyard/Kinder Garden, where students are learning the production of produce, from preparing the soil to harvesting.
"My motto is 'no child left inside,'" said Vilma Bigelow, health and physical education teacher and founder of the garden. "The students love to be outside and working in the garden. And they learn a healthier way of eating and an appreciation of food they have grown."
Students and teachers work together to prepare the beds, compost, sow seeds, transplant, water, weed and harvest the organic garden during health class two times a week. The project is designed to connect to the core curriculum.
"The garden covers the whole genre: health, science, math, language and writing skills," Bigelow said. "The students even get to use Alpha Smart laptops, doing journaling, using language skills."
The little laptops allow students to record observations and experiences or share something they have learned. The journaling also provides anecdotal evidence and insight for teachers about the impact of the program and how to maximize these experiences through connections to classroom study.
Bigelow said her visualization of Pearl's garden began in 2005 after she saw an edible schoolyard while visiting the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
"Kids need an outlet — they run out of things to do, and we need to keep their minds stimulated with different things," Bigelow said. "Every child doesn't succeed in the classroom. Many skills improve in the garden with a better work atmosphere."
In April 2007 school officials broke ground and had the ground blessed. The current dimensions of the garden are approximately 150 feet by 7 feet. The long-range goal, Bigelow said, is to utilize the acre available and produce enough vegetables to sell and use in the cafeteria.
The schoolyard has PVC pipes in place for a greenhouse, which will be covered with a mesh tarp. There the students will plant seeds, watch them germinate and then transplant the seedlings. Parents have donated plants for the garden. The kindergarten students work with plants in a box raised about waist high because they get carried away in the excitement and can't tell the difference between weeds and vegetables, Bigelow said. There are recycled tires that Bigelow plans to have the students plant flowers in.
The students have planted and harvested tomatoes, lettuce, mustard greens, cabbage, parsley and thyme. Bigelow showed off little pineapples that she says have created a lot of interest and excitement with the students as they watched them grow.
"Food that comes from the garden tastes sweeter," said Zali Tarver, second grader. "And you don't have to waste money driving to the store."
The garden has been pretty well picked over since the school year is winding down, but Bigelow is gearing up for ecological gardening preparations to be done over the summer. Volunteers will be making raised beds separated for each grade level and getting composting containers ready.
From Seed to Table is on the drawing board for fall, engaging students in a full cycle experience. Students, teachers and volunteers will sit down together in a holistic setting with floral centerpieces they have grown and eating the produce grown by the students and prepared by them in a little kitchen in Bigelow's office. Then they will clean up and put vegetable scraps into compost bins.
The students gain many benefits from their gardening experiences.
"They learn ways to get tasks done and they become committed learning the lifelong skill of growing their own food," Bigelow said.
The garden was funded by a $20,000 grant from the U.S. Forestry Department.
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