My students need materials to construct raised beds for our school garden. Lumber will be needed to build garden beds and are excited to plant apple trees for future students.
Our classroom motto is "Stay Curious". Our biology classroom can constantly be found abuzz with questions and discussions, "Why" and "How" are used in all aspects of inquiry and encouraged beyond the science department. Our school community fosters this curiosity within each of our students, placing a strong emphasis in the arts and sciences, which creates an incredibly unique student body. Any and all students are able to attend our school, which is application-based but lottery-drawn. Due to this application process, our students are from all districts and demographics within the area. This diversity allows for classroom dynamics that encourage peer-learning, skill-building, reflection upon personal ideas and experiences, as well as facilitating an appreciation of differences and commonalities.
In our biology classroom, students may be using a microscope for the first time or finely developing their electrophoresis skills.
We approach the living world through many facets which emphasize relating previous experiences toward a greater depth of knowledge. By encouraging my students to develop their own understanding of their cellular, genetic and ecological processes, they are able to make informed decisions that affect our local and global community.
My Project
Our school community is incredibly interested in developing a school garden that could serve students from 7th to 12th grade. The garden would be utilized not only in the science department but the language arts and school cafeteria would also reap the harvest that our garden could provide. Building a school garden will assist students in many different facets of science such as plant biology, include plant and soil chemistry, plant cultivation nutrition and wellness and genuine experiences between the labor of their hands and the earth.
Constructing a school garden will develop an unique ecosystem that includes our entire school community--an ecosystem that includes countless organisms: students, teachers, staff, parents, plant material, soil microbes, pollinators and insects.
Edible crops will be planted alongside perennial pollinator plants and herbs. Compost bins have been constructed to recycle end-of-the-week salad bar waste to demonstrate the amazing capabilities of soil bacteria and decomposer organisms. The possibilities are endless and we hope to continually grow our garden with involvement from students for years to come.
We are in the beginning phases of our school garden and hope to construct four 4-foot by 12-foot beds this year to utilize for perennial edible crops and pollinator plants. The lumber requested will allow us to build these beds with materials made to last and withstand many years of use. They will be reinforced with additional hardware to ensure the longevity of our garden. We would also like to plant fruit trees this year so future students may enjoy the harvest and shade these trees will provide.
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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 Mrs. Jackie Brewer and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
