"Whether they are 18 months old or eight years old, students taught under the Montessori method learn practical life skills, first and foremost," says Oak Grove Montessori Director Laura Gayle McCord. "The garden is a natural extension of our curriculum. It provides a perfect forum where our school's core goals are realized: children teaching themselves self-care and care of their environment."

Oak Grove Montessori in Carrollton, Georgia, received a 2006 Healthy Sprouts Award to support the expansion of their nutrition-focused gardening program. “Our school has moved into a brand new facility located on 12 acres of farmland. While planting and landscaping has always been a part of students’ daily work, a productive year-round vegetable, herb, and fruit garden is a top priority. Our goal is to develop a garden that will yield a harvest large enough to supply our own kitchen with fresh produce every day for lunches and snacks, support a regular children's market, and also allow us to make routine donations to our local mission and community food bank.”

With a part-time garden coordinator to help in planning and maintenance, Oak Grove is well on its way toward meeting these goals, but until the garden is fully operational they are committed to purchasing fresh produce from a local farmers' market and an organic farming co-op. “In a day and age when small farms are harder and harder to find — and fruits and vegetables are driven hundreds of miles before they reach our tables — we hope to reconnect children with the soil in their own backyards. Understanding and sustaining that microcosm in turn sustains us, strengthens the weakest parts of our community, and takes us all a step closer to rediscovering our humanity.”

In addition to growing and eating fresh fruits and vegetables, students also take an active role in food preparation by helping make daily snacks and assisting with lunch twice a week. “Our garden program provides our students with an understanding that food is a precious and limited resource. Being involved in the whole process from production to distribution and consumption shows them that food does not ‘magically’ appear on our tables. We hope it will also instill healthy preferences that will translate into better food choices later in life.”

NGA offers the Healthy Sprouts Awards, generously sponsored by Gardener’s Supply, to help schools and youth organizations create and sustain garden projects that teach about nutrition and help children explore the issue of hunger in their own communities. Learn more about the award here.

Photo used by permission of Oak Grove Montessori School.