Learning Garden Fundraiser
Tax deductible
https://sites.google.com/voyageursschool.org/middleschoolmath/community-learning-garden?authuser=0
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q-Jz59n9Iu94zXeosE96mXh7H9J5DIldRMlv2HD2rBU/edit?usp=sharing
The mission of Voyageurs Expeditionary School (VES) is to provide students with the necessary tools to lead meaningful and productive lives through hands-on learning, service to others and environmental stewardship. There are many reasons VES needs a community garden.
A community garden meets our school's mission statement of environmental stewardship. “Elementary school and junior high school students gained more positive attitudes about environmental issues after participating in a school garden program.” (Waliczek, T.M., Zajicek, J.M. 1999). “Gardening has been shown to increase scores on environmental attitude surveys of elementary school children.” (Skelly, S. & J. Zajicek. 2007). Not only that but skills learned in the garden promote increased benefits in areas of health and social skills which positively impact student achievement and behavior. A garden enhances the hands-on experiential education opportunities available to students onsite. A community garden makes a living laboratory easily accessible as well as gives students opportunities for project-based learning in areas such as construction and horticulture. Cross-curricular content is being developed and students will solve real world problems in the garden in math and science. Students will learn how to sow, care for, grow, harvest, and preserve their harvest to maximum efficiency. “Environment-based education produces student gains in social studies, science, language arts, and math; improves standardized test scores and grade point averages; and develops skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making.” (Louv, R. 2005) A community garden meets and exceeds our school’s mission.
Student health and well-being is another reason our school needs a community garden. “In the United States nearly 35% of adults are classified as obese and one-third of children and adolescents are obese or overweight.” (Ogden C.L., Carroll M.D., Kit BK, Flegal K.M. 2011-2012) “The relationship between wealth and obesity is multifactorial and likely related to factors such as nutrition, neighborhood food environments, education, and the built environment (the safety of people’s neighborhood, access to playgrounds and sidewalks, transportation, number of fast food restaurants, neighborhood trails, and social services).” (Smith, K. B., & Smith, M. S. 2016). We cater to a large underserved population with 84% qualifying for free and reduced lunch and 71% Native American/African American student body. Students from poorer households tend to have less access to healthier foods. Often, the healthy choices in the grocery store are the most expensive, and many families go without fresh produce. Most students do not understand or know what healthy eating looks like. As stewards in our community it is part of our responsibility to enable student access to fresh produce and nutritional education. By allowing students access to the garden during the summer months through summer enrichment programs, they will be able to harvest fresh produce they may not otherwise have access to. In partnering with SNAP-ed a University of Minnesota Extension office, we will incorporate a gardening curriculum to include planting, growing, nutrition, and healthy eating habits.
Louv, R. (2006). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: 4
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
Ogden C.L. , Carroll M.D. , Kit B.K., Flegal K.M.. 2011-2012 Prevalence of Childhood and Adult Obesity in the United
States JAMA. 2014;311(8):806–814. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.732
Smith, K. B., & Smith, M. S. (2016). Obesity statistics. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, 43(1), 121-135. doi:10.1016/j.pop.2015.10.001
Skelly, S. M., & Bradley, J. C. (2007). The growing phenomenon of school gardens: Measuring their variation and their affect on students' sense of responsibility and attitudes toward science and the environment. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 6(1), 97-104. doi:10.1080/15330150701319438
Waliczek, T. M., & Zajicek, J. M. (1999). School gardening: Improving environmental attitudes of children through hands-on learning. Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 17(4), 180-184. doi:10.24266/0738-2898-17.4.180
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q-Jz59n9Iu94zXeosE96mXh7H9J5DIldRMlv2HD2rBU/edit?usp=sharing
The mission of Voyageurs Expeditionary School (VES) is to provide students with the necessary tools to lead meaningful and productive lives through hands-on learning, service to others and environmental stewardship. There are many reasons VES needs a community garden.
A community garden meets our school's mission statement of environmental stewardship. “Elementary school and junior high school students gained more positive attitudes about environmental issues after participating in a school garden program.” (Waliczek, T.M., Zajicek, J.M. 1999). “Gardening has been shown to increase scores on environmental attitude surveys of elementary school children.” (Skelly, S. & J. Zajicek. 2007). Not only that but skills learned in the garden promote increased benefits in areas of health and social skills which positively impact student achievement and behavior. A garden enhances the hands-on experiential education opportunities available to students onsite. A community garden makes a living laboratory easily accessible as well as gives students opportunities for project-based learning in areas such as construction and horticulture. Cross-curricular content is being developed and students will solve real world problems in the garden in math and science. Students will learn how to sow, care for, grow, harvest, and preserve their harvest to maximum efficiency. “Environment-based education produces student gains in social studies, science, language arts, and math; improves standardized test scores and grade point averages; and develops skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making.” (Louv, R. 2005) A community garden meets and exceeds our school’s mission.
Student health and well-being is another reason our school needs a community garden. “In the United States nearly 35% of adults are classified as obese and one-third of children and adolescents are obese or overweight.” (Ogden C.L., Carroll M.D., Kit BK, Flegal K.M. 2011-2012) “The relationship between wealth and obesity is multifactorial and likely related to factors such as nutrition, neighborhood food environments, education, and the built environment (the safety of people’s neighborhood, access to playgrounds and sidewalks, transportation, number of fast food restaurants, neighborhood trails, and social services).” (Smith, K. B., & Smith, M. S. 2016). We cater to a large underserved population with 84% qualifying for free and reduced lunch and 71% Native American/African American student body. Students from poorer households tend to have less access to healthier foods. Often, the healthy choices in the grocery store are the most expensive, and many families go without fresh produce. Most students do not understand or know what healthy eating looks like. As stewards in our community it is part of our responsibility to enable student access to fresh produce and nutritional education. By allowing students access to the garden during the summer months through summer enrichment programs, they will be able to harvest fresh produce they may not otherwise have access to. In partnering with SNAP-ed a University of Minnesota Extension office, we will incorporate a gardening curriculum to include planting, growing, nutrition, and healthy eating habits.
Louv, R. (2006). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: 4
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
Ogden C.L. , Carroll M.D. , Kit B.K., Flegal K.M.. 2011-2012 Prevalence of Childhood and Adult Obesity in the United
States JAMA. 2014;311(8):806–814. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.732
Smith, K. B., & Smith, M. S. (2016). Obesity statistics. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, 43(1), 121-135. doi:10.1016/j.pop.2015.10.001
Skelly, S. M., & Bradley, J. C. (2007). The growing phenomenon of school gardens: Measuring their variation and their affect on students' sense of responsibility and attitudes toward science and the environment. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 6(1), 97-104. doi:10.1080/15330150701319438
Waliczek, T. M., & Zajicek, J. M. (1999). School gardening: Improving environmental attitudes of children through hands-on learning. Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 17(4), 180-184. doi:10.24266/0738-2898-17.4.180
Organizer
Shannon Stormy Reyes
Organizer
Bemidji, MN
Voyageurs Expeditionary School
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
