Life’s Lessons in Learning Gardens (continued)


90 min. – Small groups work in three 30-


minute rotating stations: Station One: Critters in the Compost Station Two: Making a Compost Pile Station Three: Early Winter Harvesting and


Bed Preparation 10 min. – Reflection & Clean Up


Educational Goals /Skills: 1. Learn what compost is and its role in the


garden


2. Learn how to identify common compost and soil organisms to appreciate them


Activity Station: Making a Compost Pile: 1. Introduce the cycle of life and the con-


cept of decomposition. Explain that by building a compost pile, we build a home for decompos- ers.


2. Ask if anyone can describe what a decomposer is or


what it does. 3. Introduce the “FBI”: fungus, bacteria, and insects. These


are decomposers that will break down the compost pile. 4. Have participants give examples of biodegradable ma-


terials that they might throw away at home or at school (banana peel, dried leaves). 5. Ask participants to describe possible reasons to compost. 6. Introduce the “BIG FOUR”: browns (e.g. leaves, straw),


greens (e.g. grass clippings, food waste), air, and water. 7. Explain procedures: (1) chop materials to 6 inches or


less; (2) mix browns and greens; (3) maintain moisture equal to a wrung-out sponge. 8. Have the group collect brown and green materials in


separate piles. 9. Assign students various tasks such as chopping, layering


browns and greens, mixing, and watering the pile. 10. Once the pile is built, review basics of composting and


why it is important. Compost-making teaches many lessons such as: change over


time, cycles, decomposition, life from death, the role of microor- ganisms in sustaining life, and food webs. The traditional mean- ing of the term “harvest” is turned on its head as students first harvest food waste and garden debris with which to build a com- post pile, then months later harvest rich soil and earthworms from the bottom of the compost bin. This puzzles students and draws them into the cycles of life: “bugs” become invertebrate partners in helping to break down biomass into a form usable by plants; and compost serves as an intergenerational gift to future students and the school grounds themselves. Plus, they grow seeds in this compost-turned-soil: the miracle of life presents further bounties. Students learn one positive model of environmental regeneration. Via composting, life’s lessons simultaneously surface and find roots in the learning gardens.


As food producing sites often marginal in relation to school


buildings and other concrete educational infrastructure, school gardens are islands of biological activity within a sanitized and


Page 42 Photos courtesy of Marcia Thomas


homogenized school environment. This contrast itself can stimu- late critical questioning about the broader community context of learning in relation to life, as a 7th


grade student reflects: It is strange that people can take pride in large lawns and


waste their land with simply growing and cutting grass. If we plant gardens instead, and can also grow food, we can bring wild- life and at the same time eat healthy fresh food. I am worried that bees are dying in our region; how will our flowers get pollinated? How will we have fruits? (from Williams 2008) Thoughtful and critical questions are a key component of the


cognitive process: when students are questioning, they are making meaning and seeking to connect new stimuli to familiar concepts. The living soil of school gardens awakens endless learning.


Conclusion


The current educational environment is driven by fact-based curriculum, standardization, and multiple-choice test-taking, all of which stifle children’s curiosity and imagina- tion. Learning gardens provide ample opportunities for students to encounter the unfamiliar; questions, not answers, become the driving motivators for learning. Struck by peculiarity in the gardens, a wondering “beginner’s” mind stimulates an experi- ence of awe and sets in motion a search for answers, as curiosity, wonder, and critical thinking come naturally to children. The liv- ing soil of school gardens engages the learning of life’s lessons.


Dilafruz R. Williams is Professor, Leadership for Sustainability Education at Portland State University. She is co-founder of the Sun- nyside Environmental School and the Learning Gardens Laboratory in Portland. See www.dilafruzwilliams.com


Jonathan D. Brown is Adjunct Faculty, Leadership for Sustainability Education at Portland State University. He served as instructor at the Learning Gardens Laboratory and co-founded a campus community garden at Simon’s Rock College of Bard, Massachusetts. Contact: Jon Brown at jumpinjonbrown@gmail.com.


www.clearingmagazine.org/online CLEARING 2010


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