Edible Schoolyard: Biology and Life Skills for 560 Students!
My students need lumber and hardware to build raised beds for our garden to do hands on biology and nutrition studies and learn life skills like self-sufficiency.
We want to get our students outside, digging in the earth, engaging in real world problem solving, hypothesizing, planning, discovering, cultivating ownership and learning in ways that will be memorable and meaningful.
Many students have limited opportunities for nutritious food outside of school; open safe places to play and exercise, and enriching activities.
It is not uncommon for our students to experience homelessness, family mental health issues, exposure to addiction, and domestic violence. School has to be a safe place where students learn skills relevant to their long term lives. At our school, we strive to create students who can take control of their lives and be self managers. We do this through constant modeling and positive reinforcement of high expectations for how our students organize themselves, take initiative in their learning, and do high quality work. Though our community often does not have the monetary resources or knowledge needed to provide for a high quality plant based diet, it is in a unique position to promote nutrition and healthy eating to a student body who is curious and eager to learn and a community who takes pride in their students.
My Project
Science needs to be a regular part of student learning, not just an add on. Plant-based learning will open a door to discovery of the living world. The raised bed garden that our students will be building themselves with the high quality rot resistant cedar boards that we are requesting will offer a platform to help kids achieve learning goals in ways that are recommended by the National Science Standards for years to come. Our goal is that our school garden will engage our students, grades K thru 5, with things that must be measured, counted, weighed, arranged, planned and cared for and will require their intellectual, emotional and social involvement.
Students will start with lessons adjusted to their grade level such as: living and non-living in the garden, soil science, and tracking weather changes. In the spring some topics we will cover are: dissecting cafeteria meals and finding what items could be grown in the garden, seeds and learning about the 'leaves we eat'.
Our students come from diverse backgrounds and speak over twenty different languages.
80% of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch. Many students have limited opportunities for nutritious food outside of school. A school garden would serve as a community center for our school that brought together students and families across grade levels and cultures. Most importantly, it would also be a major tool for us to provide positive experiences and life long lessons for our students.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Stassek and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
