How can we expect the next generation to care for the environment if they spend a majority of their time hooked up to television and computer screens with little to no interaction with the natural world we are asking them to protect? Children need outdoor experiences to help them appreciate the delicate webs in our ecosystem so they can understand how their actions can make local and global impacts. How do we draw them away from the shows and games to teach them to love the outdoors? With a garden of course!
Through garden activities, children establish an important connection with nature. In a recent study, researchers from Washington State University discovered participation in active gardening during childhood was the most important influence in explaining adult environmental attitudes and actions. They concluded that even in urban areas where green spaces are limited, gardening programs for children can provide a strong enough connection to instill appreciation and respect for nature in adulthood. (Click here to view the full abstract)
With space constraints or limited time preventing many families from gardening at home, school gardening takes on greater importance. Gardens serve as living laboratories, where the lessons are drawn from real-life experiences. These dynamic spaces engage students, fostering skills in and enthusiasm for observation, discovery, and experimentation.
Below are recommended standards for environmental education from
the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), along with ideas for how to use school gardens to teach these principals. These suggestions and links are only a start to the vast array of creative ways you can use a garden to teach environmental education, but we hope they’ll inspire you to dig in!
Learner Guidelines from the NAAEE
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Garden Lesson Ideas from Kidsgardening.org |
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Strand 1 - Questioning, Analysis, and Interpretation Skills |
Questioning |
Use garden journals to track students' questions about plants. Students can bring in notebooks, or make their own. (See Making Fiend Journals for instructions.) |
Designing Investigations |
Opportunities for investigations are plentiful in the garden. Read about one classroom's experiments with growing potatoes. |
Collecting information |
Foster observation and practice it by collecting data about insects visiting your garden (see Inspiring Insect Sleuths). |
Evaluating accuracy and reliability
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Compare student-made weather tools with more sophisticated weather tracking instruments. |
Organizing information |
Use flower attributes to create a variety of charts. Check out the lesson Flowers: Graph and Graph Again from Math in the Garden. |
Working with models and simulations
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Create models to explore how different soil conditions influence rainwater absorption (Catching the Rain ) and how roots impact erosion (Why
Root for Roots ). |
Drawing conclusions and developing explanations |
Use the lesson Look Who's in the Neighborhood from the online curriculum Nature's Partners: Pollinators, Plants, and You to draw conclusions about the types of insects in your garden. |
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Strand 2 - Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems |
2.1 The earth as a physical system |
Processes that shape the earth |
Teach students about decomposition by starting a compost pile. Check out Wasteful Lessons: Delving into Decomposition.
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Changes in matter |
Build terrariums for your indoor garden and teach students about the changing properties of water in the water cycle. |
Energy |
Design an energy efficient landscape and teach students about the importance of conserving energy resources. |
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2.2 The living environment |
Organisms, populations, and communities |
Explore native plants and compare them to invasive plants. Identify native plants to install in your school garden. |
Heredity and evolution |
Learn about and practice plant breeding. |
Systems and connections |
Plant a butterfly garden to observe the life cycles of both plants and animals and how they are connected. |
Flow of matter and energy |
Investigate the importance of light to plants and discuss how light energy is converted into the 'fuel' that supports all life through photosynthesis. |
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2.3 Humans and their societies |
Individuals and groups |
Explore the impact of a community garden on the residents of an urban neighborhood by reading the novel Seedfolks. |
Culture |
Explore how our food system has changed through the years and how it impacts our environment using the lesson Home Grown? Trends in Home Food Production. |
Political and economic systems |
Research plant-based biofuels and discuss the political and economic issues surrounding biofuel production. |
Global connections |
Investigate the environmental impacts of the international cut flower industry. |
Change and conflict |
Learn about the destruction of natural wetlands due to human development and the problems created by their loss. Preserve or restore a wetland in your schoolyard or community to demonstrate the importance of these spaces. |
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2.4 Environment and society |
Human/environmental interactions |
Introduce students to human impact on the environment by investigating how cities impact local climate through weather-data collection in your garden. |
Places |
Investigate the importance of native plants from around the world through the online Mountain Adventures curriculum. |
Resources |
Learn about your local water resources and create a plan for conserving water in your garden. |
Technology |
Explore food-processing advances and the impacts on our environment using Processing
Effects from the Farm to Table curriculum. |
Environmental Issues |
Conduct a taste-test of fruits and vegetables grown locally versus those shipped from a distance using Savoring Flavors from Nourishing Choices. Make the activity a springboard to a discussion of the environmental impact of our transportation system. |
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Strand 3 - Skills for Understanding and Addressing Environmental Issues |
3.1 Skills for analyzing and investigating environmental issues |
Identifying and investigating issues |
Learn about the problems caused by stormwater runoff and evaluate the different methods used to lessen the environmental impacts. Research rain gardens and then work with other organizations to build a rain garden in your schoolyard or community. Read Rain Gardens to the Rescue for background information and designing guidance. |
Sorting out the consequences of issues |
Identifying and
evaluating alternative solutions and courses of action |
Working with flexibility, creativity, and openness |
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3.2 Decision-making and citizenship skills |
Forming and evaluating personal views |
Host a community planning event to brainstorm for your garden program. |
Evaluating the need for citizen action |
Teach students how to research and evaluate current events using What's Up with Wetlands? |
Planning and taking action |
Find out what it takes to start a community garden through the lesson Exploring Community Gardens. |
Evaluating the results of actions |
Uncover the reasons for declines in pollinator populations, then plant a pollinator garden or add
pollinator-friendly plantings to an existing garden. Check out the Pollinator Partnerships Planting Guides for regional planting suggestions. |
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Strand 4 - Personal and Civic Responsibility |
Understanding societal values and principles |
Grow food crops in your school garden that help you explore diverse cultures and encourage students to conduct interviews with members of the community from those cultures. |
Recognizing citizen's rights and responsibilities |
Plan a community service project. Click here for ideas. |
Recognizing efficacy |
Teach students that a successful garden is more than just healthy plants. Check out Planting the Seeds of Community. |
Accepting personal responsibility |
Read
how one school's Environmental Empowerment Club is growing plants and responsible citizens in their garden. |
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