Schoolyard Garden Insights, Part 1

By Terry Maxwell

Editor’s Note: This is the first of two articles by Terry Maxwell about schoolyard gardening. (Part 2 will appear in our Winter issue.) In Part 1, Terry offers his advice on what to do if you already have a garden and you want to maximize its potential as a supplement to classroom learning. He also digs into (pun fully intended) the various digital tools at your disposal, especially during these times of remote and hybrid learning.

If you are looking for one more reason to keep your native garden growing at your school, look into your own classroom. I make it a point to develop lessons in my Environmental Science class that include our native plant garden. If you have an outdoor space or native plant garden, I encourage you to get your classroom out into nature. If your garden was created by a club, the club members feel a sense of pride that classes are using the garden. When they realize that not only have they created a great space for nature, but also an outdoor classroom, there is a real sense of pride that develops. I have found that several types of lessons work well in the native plant garden setting. These are geared towards high school students, but can be adapted for those in younger grades.