School gardens provide opportunities to connect children to the real world through the common denominator of food. The process of planting seeds in soil, in a garden outdoors or on a window sill, instills a feeling of accomplishment. Gardening offers opportunities for students to take responsibility and to work with others as they build self esteem. Watching the garden grow is a visible sign of their success.
Outdoor Classroom
While gardens can be cozy and beautiful places on school grounds, they also can be a vehicle to embed essential skills across the curriculum. Science, technology, engineering, arts, math, social studies, language arts, nutrition and environmental studies are easily integrated into gardening. The interdisciplinary approach to teaching in a garden levels the playing field as students acquire essential skills needed to succeed in an ever-changing world.
Kentucky Ready Set Grow is made possible by a US. Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Grant administered by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The lessons and resources were compiled by the Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom with assistance from Kentucky Farm Bureau. Learn more>>
Just getting started? This takes you through all the questions you need to ask your team and helps you make a plan.
These lessons were developed and suggested by national award-winning Kentucky teacher Darlene Horton. No garden required!
We’ve compiled several resources from various Cooperative Extension experts in the region.
Looking for more help? Here is a list of organizations and sites that may be able to make your school garden a reality.
School gardens are much more than aesthetic additions to school grounds. They are dynamic ecosystems that foster biodiversity, enhance education, and promote sustainability.
The holiday season is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than by integrating the spirit of the season with educational and fun activities in the school garden?
The green thumb isn't just for botany lessons; it can also be a tool for nurturing the mind.
Meadowthorpe Elementary School in Lexington, Kentucky, stands out as a shining example of a successful school garden program under the "Kentucky Ready Set Grow" initiative.
Data from the Natural Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) has ecologists and entomologists buzzing. America’s bee population is growing, making them the fastest-growing livestock segment in the country. But does that mean the nation’s pollinator crisis is over?
Wayne County’s school garden is amongst the best in the state thanks to the ongoing partnerships that work with Agriculture Teacher Justin Horton and his students. This is the 12th year the garden has produced vegetables that have supported the school cafeterias.
Although the middle schoolers have continued to be the garden's life force, they also couldn't function without the inspired volunteers.
This fall, 2nd Graders at Jefferson spruced up their school garden in preparation for the winter months. The students helped level out the new soil and added over 100 bulbs, which will bloom in spring.
What do you do with a low-income school, a few donated garden boxes, and no funding for plants or supplies? To this question, teachers Debbie Rutledge-Lockyear and Janet White’s response was confident. You make it work.
At the PES Courtyard of Curiosity, knowledge is in bloom. Students take a break from pencil and paper and come outside to stretch their legs and get their lungs full of fresh air, all while learning about growing their own food, stewarding the land, and all the science that ties it all together.
Maryhurst is well known in Kentucky for being the Commonwealth’s oldest child welfare agency — lifting young people up and setting them up for success later in life. A new program has changed the way Maryhurst students think about their food — and has even empowered students to help select fresh, healthy food from nearby farms for meals in the Maryhurst cafeteria.
Cougar Hill Farm is a STEM project of Simons Middle School in Fleming County thanks to the vision of teachers Paul King and Brad Hay. The school has extensive aquaponics and bee keeping programs.
You come to the Kentucky Castle for tours, good dining, and the sense of a fairy tale. But what if the Castle was your classroom? Every morning I get on Versailles Road and drive to the Castle to spend two hours working with the staff. But I’m not an employee, I’m a full time high school student. And the Castle is my classroom for two hours every few days each week.
Darleen Horton / Read Full Article
