Propagating Learning: Growing Plants for an Ocean Friendly Garden
My students need a plant cart with grow lights so we can grow plants to use in our Ocean Friendly Garden project.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Holland's classroom raised $747
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
It's often said that as we grow older we begin to get less curious. My seventh grade students defy this. As the school year goes on, they get more curious as they make connections between concepts and start looking at the world in new ways.
My students are curious and creative problem solvers who make insightful observations as they engage with and learn from each other.
I teach at a Title I school with a diverse population of students who show me every day that, if given the chance, they will rise to the occasion.
My Project
This year my students are exploring the question, "How can we think globally and act locally?". As part of this project they are learning about local environmental issues and coming up with action-oriented solutions to those issues. One of those issues? Urban runoff. One of those solutions? Planting an Ocean Friendly Garden consisting of mostly native plants. Ocean Friendly Gardens are similar to rain gardens, slowing runoff to allow more water to soak into the soil and filtering pollutants.
We are lucky to have a local environmental organization who will come educate my students about the issue of urban runoff and work with us to design and build an Ocean Friendly Garden on our campus.
By receiving a plant cart with grow lights, students will be able to propagate many of the plants we use in their final design. These materials will provide important opportunities for applied lessons in biology and ecology. They will also open up many possible future projects, such as growing native plants to be used in habitat restoration or creating an edible garden.
In addition to the service learning component of this project, it will also provide students a hands-on way to learn science content. During this project we will explore the role photosynthesis plays in the cycling of matter and energy, as well as the dynamic nature of ecosystems and how disruptions can lead to shifts in populations.
Because this project is designed to educate students, students will be involved in all aspects of building the garden. They will propose competing engineering design solutions to best capture runoff, conduct investigations to determine what organic materials to use, and make scientific arguments about what plants our garden ecosystem needs. When completed, our Ocean Friendly Garden will continue to serve as a teaching tool for many years.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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 Ms. Holland and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
