My students are the reason I come to work each day. If someone walked into my classroom, my hope would be that they would see a community that supports authentic, rigorous, and engaging activities that involve many modalities of learning.
Students in my class learn to take ownership of their own learning and a lot of what goes on happens organically.
Because of the passion I have for the environment and my strong desire to share it with the kids, my class is definitely engaging. Not only do I work with the students in my classroom, I work with the entire school community teaching all the students how to be Environmentally Conscious. If I can have just a few students each year fall in love with gardening and wanting to share it with others, my job has been a success.
My Project
Three years ago we started building garden beds at our elementary school. We are now up to 12 beds, built by Eagle Scouts that serve 12 classes, TK-3rd grade. The beds are filled with organic soil and have been planted by students this fall utilizing supplies that have been scraped together or borrowed by teachers and parent volunteers. Since we did not have storage for supplies, we have not been able to collect any supplies and each time we need them we must summon them from the community. Last year, we were able to secure a grant for a garden shed that is on it's way to us now, so we can gather, utilize and store our own garden supplies.
We need garden tools and supplies to sustain and enhance learning in our outdoor garden classroom.
Our program would benefit from a wheelbarrow to move soil, compost and wood chips that we use to amend beds and for mulch. We need shovels to move soil, rakes to keep our garden tidy and hand tools for students to do the work in the beds. For our organic garden program, bird netting is a protective barrier that helps to keep critters from munching on our bounty. Having access to these tools and supplies stored near the gardens will improve the functionality and efficiency of our program so when students are out in the garden, they can focus on garden activities and scientific discovery, instead of how to source a tool. We are thrilled to have a garden shed, and now we just need the tools to go in it!
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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. Harrington and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
