The students at our school take a class every year entitled Student Directed Learning or SDL. This class has the student pick the topic that they wish to learn about. A WGS student, Gavin, has chosen to grow a school garden as his SDL project.
Gavin has been working on the garden since the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. He has successfully grown lettuce, bok choy, cilantro and parsley. He has completed soil tests of the soil in the three raised beds and the compost pile. The tests have shown that his garden is in need of nitrogen. He has researched what amendments he needs and how to add these to his garden.
Gavin is hardworking and determined to make the school garden a success. He just needs a little help accomplishing his SDL goals.
This project will teach the students what it takes to grow their own food. It will teach students about hard work, real-world problem solving and how to care for living organisms. It will also show students the science behind growing sufficient amounts of food and how changes to soil composition will also change the food production.
In Their Own Words
The main question I am trying to answer with my SDL project is: Can I grow enough food to supply my school's kitchen with fresh vegetables? I am designing this project for my school. It matters to my community because WGS won’t have to buy as much food for the kids. It is my wish to successfully feed the students at my school. I need these soil amendments so I can apply them to my garden and grow more food for the cook.
So far my project has taught me how to grow plants from seeds, how to transplant seedlings, how to test nutrient levels and pH levels, and how to use a rototiller. I have even helped the younger kids at my school plant their bean sprouts in the raised beds. This project has taught me a whole bunch of real-life skills.
The goal we are trying to accomplish is to treat our garden because it is seriously nitrogen deficient. We are also trying to feed the school from the garden. We want to have the best food we can have by using good things to fix the soil. It would help so very much to have these amendments.
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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. Robles and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
