Schoolyard Garden Insights, Part 2

To view the photo-rich magazine version, click here.

Originally appears in the Winter 2021 issue.

By Terry Maxwell

Editor’s Note: Especially to our readers in temperate, sub-Arctic, and Arctic regions, this may seem like an odd time to include an article about schoolyard gardens — fair enough. Plant growth isn’t exactly top of mind when there’s snow on the ground. As you read this second of Terry Maxwell’s two articles on schoolyard gardens, however, it will become clear just how much preparation goes into such an undertaking. Between grant-writing and community outreach, you need several months to put all the pieces in place.

The moment has come. You’ve decided to create a native plant garden on your school grounds. You’ve won a grant. Your students are excited and motivated, and your administrators believe in your vision. Warm weather comes and you take a day or two to create a space that you and your students are proud of. You invite the community. Your class is wanting to know how their plants are growing. Students are asking you every day if anything new has happened in the garden. The administration is touting your garden as an example of outside-the-box thinking and initiative. You are on the proverbial mountaintop.