School Garden
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A school garden is an area designated for students to learn how to grow plants and produce at their schools. They are commonly established to improve students' health, social development, and academic achievement.


History

The value of school gardens in education has long been recognized in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. They were started as early as 1819 in
Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...
. In 1869 they were prescribed by law in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
since 1873 and in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
since 1880. In the early 20th century, there were 20,000 schools in Austria with gardens, 45,000 in France, 8,000 in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, and 2,500 in Sweden. The number in the latter country once was double the present number, but has decreased since the introduction of
manual training Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...
. School gardening was practically obligatory for the children of the common schools of Belgium, the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, British West Indies, and Ceylon. Many governments subsidized the school gardens, offered prizes, and made training in agriculture obligatory for normal school graduates. Some universities in the United States, including
Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...
, the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
,
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
, and
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
, have taken up the problem of school agriculture, country life, and scientific farming in earnest. Pamphlets are published by experts in agriculture dealing with important phases of school agriculture and school gardens, in particular Jewell's ''Agricultural Education'' (Bulletin 368, U. S. Bureau of Education).


Curriculum role

The school-garden has an important relation to several curriculum areas. The first of these is nature study. School gardens allow children a multitude of experiences, such as getting outside, preparing soil, planting seeds, and observing and cultivating plants through the season. This whole cycle of growth and change allows for hands on experience with plant study. Secondly, the garden has a very important place in the study of geography. In the home geography in the early grades classes of children are required to visit the gardens and study the processes of cultivation and marketing the products. In this way, the principles of gardening lead to learning about agriculture, scientific farming, and fruit raising. Children can be taught about the principles involved in farming, the raising of corn and other grains, the feeding of cattle, dairying and butter-making, fruit-culture, as of berries, stone-fruits, apples, and pears. Scientific agriculture and fruit-raising are based on principles of careful selection of seed and of wise cultivation, of fertilizing and preserving soils, of grafting, pruning and caring for fruit trees, and dealing with insect pests. The school garden has an important relation to esthetics and design.
Floriculture Floriculture (from ) is the study of the efficient production of the plants that produce showy, colorful flowers and foliage for human enjoyment in human environments. It is a commercially successful branch of horticulture and agriculture found ...
,
landscape gardening A landscape is the visible features of an area of Terrestrial ecoregion, land, its landforms, and how they integrate with Nature, natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Diction ...
, tree-planting and fruit-culture appeal to the sense of beauty. The whole yard and garden together need to be planted and laid out on principles of taste and attractiveness. Many progressive normal schools in all parts of the world are taking up the initiative of school-gardens, both for the teachers and for the children. School gardens can also be linked to the curriculum in any grade through science, social studies, math, arts, language arts and more. It has been seen to create a sense of connection to place and is an example of place-based learning. Having students garden is experiential learning which can involve the whole school and larger community, through involving parents, community partners, and elders from the community. It creates an opportunity for intergenerational learning, where people of different ages can come together to grow food and work towards a sustainable environment and community. Through school gardens, students learn to work the land and create a food garden in which they can grow food such as lettuce, potatoes, kale, and peas. Students learn about local food and what grows in their environment. It helps to create a connection to food and get students thinking about where their food comes from and what it takes to grow it. It supports better nutrition in students and can incorporate lessons on healthy eating. This real-world, hands-on learning has proven to be very popular with students and schools. The schoolyard can be an extension of the classroom. It connects students to the natural world and helps create responsible caretakers of the planet. School gardens ultimately contribute to connections between students, teachers, community, food, nature, and sustainability.


STEM education

School gardens can extend far beyond the growing of vegetables and produce to incorporate more complex ecological
STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...
systems. By adding rainwater collection systems, photovoltaic panels, composting systems, methane digesters, tiny houses, and other circular systems, a school garden can begin to function as a robust educational
land lab A land lab is an area of land that has been set aside for use in biology, biological studies. Thus, it is literally an outdoor laboratory based on an area of land. Studies may be elementary or advanced. For instance, students may simply be given ...
. Food, energy, shelter, sanitation, and water can all be provisioned in a school garden that has the right circular systems in operation. A school garden can be a powerful STEM instructional component within a larger educational
land lab A land lab is an area of land that has been set aside for use in biology, biological studies. Thus, it is literally an outdoor laboratory based on an area of land. Studies may be elementary or advanced. For instance, students may simply be given ...
. Ecology, biology, agriculture, energy systems, culinary arts, climate science, soil science, and animal husbandry can all function as cross-curricular topics within a school garden land lab.


Effects

Some studies suggest that school gardening programs benefit children's dietary behavior. The experiential nature of cultivating school gardens has allowed it to be effective in increasing their preference and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Hence, they are possible initiatives to combat modern health problems, such as food insecurity and childhood obesity. However, more quantitative research is needed to prove school gardens' beneficial effects on health and well-being.


See also

*
List of garden types A wide range of garden types exist. Below is a list of examples. By country of origin *Chinese garden **Lingnan garden, Cantonese garden **Sichuanese garden *Dutch garden *Gardens of ancient Egypt, Egyptian garden *English garden * ...


References

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External links

* {{Authority control Primary education Agricultural education Types of garden