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Welcome to the New Kids Garden News!

As promised, we've combined our two educator e-newsletters into a single mailing! For details and to learn what else is in store, please click here.

This month . . .

Peace Gardens: Cultivating Understanding

In January, schools across the nation celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by learning about this great man and the powerful and peaceful civil rights movement he led. To extend these explorations, school gardeners and habitat stewards can integrate peaceful ideals and conflict resolution in garden-related activities. But how do you link plants to peace?

Because every living thing depends on plants for basic needs – air, food, shelter, clothing, even water – they can serve as a clear symbol, even to young children, of how all living things are connected. It also points out the importance of preserving the living systems and cycles that plants – and therefore, we – depend on. Working with plants in a school garden, habitat or an indoor GrowLab gives students the opportunity to experience and grasp these complex concepts first hand.

We hear regularly from educators that their students experience the nuts and bolts of peace – good communication and healthy interaction – when they work together in the garden. They tell us that kids with diverse backgrounds and abilities quickly develop social skills such as cooperation, sharing, and leadership, and forge friendships that didn’t previously exist on the playground.

Students show ownership and pride in the green oases they create. By sharing their passion with other classes, their families, and the community, they discover a new way to connect with others. In their growing spaces they can create messages of peace – perhaps through the layout of the garden, plant choices, sculpture, contemplative spaces – and then share these special places with visitors.

In this month’s issue of Kids Garden News, we share stories of successful school peace gardens and habitats, activities to help your students connect plants to peace, and resources to help your school develop a green place at your school that is devoted to peace, communication, and conflict resolution.

NGA offers funds and resources to help educators launch and sustain learning gardens. Check out these two to see if they address your needs: