munity. If at all possible this person should be paid for their time. Having a paid coordinator adds a level of profession- alism and importance to the project. The coordinator will organize meetings, create a calendar so items are completed on time, oversee larger events, encourage teachers to use the garden and ensure the garden doesn’t fall into disrepair.
Common challenges & creative solutions: 1. Finding and forming relationships with local organiza- tions: start asking your students and fellow faculty mem- bers to suggest partners for the garden. Local environ- mental education organizations are a great place to start. Reach out to them with a phone call and sign up for their mailing list. Arrange a meeting in person and spend an hour together talking about different ideas. Remember to touch base with them via email every few weeks so you maintain the relationship. Invite them to events and enlist their help whenever possible.
2. Keeping meetings fun and productive: branch out and consider holding meetings at a nearby restaurant or someone’s home. Create a structured meeting agenda with time allotments for each topic of discussion and stick to it, nothing is worse than a rambling meeting that ends late and doesn’t result in clear action steps.
2: Set Goals & Craft a Mission Statement The tendency when starting out is to go big right away, but
the best idea is to start small. You can always expand, but it can be discouraging to have a large garden that isn’t getting adequate use. When articulating your goals for your school garden, ask who will be using the garden. Surely students, but also consider community members, parents, siblings, etc. What is the purpose for the garden? Gardens are estab- lished for many reasons such as beautification, memorializa- tion, use as a curricular tool and providing food for the local community. How can the garden reflect the local commu- nity? Each garden is unique and should be a source of pride for the community. What makes your community special? How can you incorporate those aspects into the school gar- den? Once you have discussed these questions with your team, form a mission statement. Having a clearly defined mission will help explain the garden to potential stakehold- ers and volunteers. It’s important to make sure that there is an achievable pathway forward with tangible benchmarks to measure success and progress.
Common challenges & creative solutions: 1. Setting goals that are difficult to measure: there may come a time when you need to justify your garden ini- tiative to your administration or funding partner and having attainable goals with measurable outcomes will provide the data needed. A great goal would be “to teach students about plant lifecycles by having them start seeds and harvest fruits.” You can record the actions of the stu- dents and have them journal their findings on lifecycles. Another goal could be “to expose the students to new foods by growing culturally significant plants and having tastings.” Measurement of this goal would include a sur- vey of the students and having them complete taste tests and record observations in their journals.
2. Forcing an outdated mission statement: plan to analyze
and revise your mission annually. Include students in the process to help brainstorm ideas. When new members join the team ask them for input. Avoid stretching your mission to include every aspect of nature education and focus on one or two unique aspects of the school com- munity such as the presence of a culinary program, par- ent community, extracurricular clubs, service learning classes, etc.
3: Design an Outdoor Classroom Once you’ve determined who will be using the garden and
the purpose for its creation you are free to move forward into the design phase. Gardens come in all shapes and sizes. Some of the most successful school gardens we’ve seen have been just one or two plots tended by a few classes and par- ent volunteers. Assess potential sites for the garden. Con- sider the following criteria: safety, available space, access to water, access to the site, amount of sunlight & shade (should have at least six hours of full sun for edibles and pollinator plants), topography, security (does the site require protec- tion from wildlife or passersby?), visibility from classroom/ street, potential for noise pollution (making it difficult to teach) and zoning restrictions. Creating an outdoor class- room is very similar to turning an indoor space into an ideal learning environment. Here are some of the basic elements to consider as you plan your outdoor classroom: gather- ing space with tables and chairs, storage for tools & les- son materials, access for wheelchairs, shade for students, learning stations (weather, reading, etc.), exploration areas (digging pit, butterfly garden, wetland, etc.), planting areas, hand washing station and compost area. Even though this list seems large all of these elements are not necessary at once. Remember, start small and grow! Adding a theme to your garden is a fun way to organize
plantings and classroom activities. Here are a few ideas, but there are many more: salad garden, salsa garden, pizza garden, herb garden, cultural culinary garden, interna- tional garden, wildflower garden, butterfly garden, rainbow garden, historical garden, alphabet garden, storybook gar- den, sensory garden, give-away garden, memorial garden, playscape and rain garden. Create a base map and allow students and other stakeholders to contribute to the design process. You’ll be impressed with some of the ideas the stu- dents come up with! While you may not be able to include a waterslide and zip line, some of their notions for experimen- tal beds, a compost corner and ensuring the garden is able to be accessed by elderly and differently abled persons can easily be included and will give them an increased sense of ownership in the project. Another important factor to consider will be the space
between each planting area. Will there be grass pathways? If so, the space between them should be enough for a lawn mower. We suggest installing raised beds for edible plant- ings. Raised beds allow you to build an ideal soil composi- tion and reduce the worry of contamination. Build beds that are no wider than four feet to allow students to reach into the middle of the bed without stepping inside. Younger stu- dents may benefit from even smaller beds. Get creative! Reusing old containers, shoes, toys, etc.
will incorporate a component of recycling for the students and add some whimsy to your garden. Native plants will
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