Theme: Service Learning
— Helping Kids and Communities Grow
Across
the country, garden and habitat projects are inspiring students to connect
with and serve their communities. They create "ethnic" plantings that
reflect a community's cultures, build intergenerational partnerships,
involve neighbors in schoolyard planning, teach citizens about recycling
waste, share harvests with populations in need, and create urban oases
for respite and renewal. And that's just for starters.
Projects that link learning to the real world are naturally rewarding
for students. When they have a chance to address genuine community needs,
cultivate partnerships, and see that their own actions can improve the
quality of life for others, education becomes meaningful and empowering,
and self-esteem flourishes. As youngsters become active, socially responsible
members of their communities, they also learn, firsthand, what democracy
looks and feels like.
This approach to teaching – called service-learning – is being
endorsed at every level of education. The practice goes beyond having
students simply do community service; it explicitly weaves community
service with curriculum goals so that learning; personal, social, and
civic skills; and communities are strengthened. These relationships
also help schools build bridges to the community and help local people
better understand and support educational goals.
Growing Service-Learning Connections 
Gardens, habitats, and related environmental projects offer a host
of entry points for linking and enriching learning and communities.
Read on for highlights from the field.
Kinder-Garden Seeds Grow Communities
Young environmental stewards in Philadelphia had long been collecting
and counting seeds from their schoolyard habitat and distributing samples
to other classes. What started as a great math lesson and opportunity
to share habitat wisdom soon blossomed into a business dubbed the Kinder-Garden
Seed Company. (Youngsters sold hand-designed seed packets to local gift
shops.) But it was student observations of community needs that brought
about real civic action.
When the kids realized that residents of their inner-city neighborhood
had limited access to garden centers and products, they decided to share
their wealth. On special days, local residents come in and "shop" (free
of charge) for Kinder-Garden seeds, vegetable plants the students started
in the spring, and compost made from lunch scraps. Some of the visitors,
in turn, help with summer maintenance or simply drop by to offer compliments
and advice. "We've had some wonderful multigenerational experiences,"
says Chuck. As their interactions with the community expanded, his students
considered what else they might do to bring their neighborhood to life
and create more habitat. Their next project? Using their own seeds to
start wildflower gardens in vacant lots where housing once stood!
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Growing
Bridges
"The garden has made a difference in the community as residents
take pride in what it represents. Ours is dedicated to peace and
nonviolence, which have been elusive in this neighborhood."
"The garden has shifted the relationships between parents and
the school. I have 99 percent ESL students; many parents assume
that an invitation to school means something's wrong, and they
steer clear. When they come in to see the garden and notice how
kids flourish as scientists and acquire language, they become
involved."
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Pesticide Patrol
Fifth and sixth grade ESL students in Ojai, CA, were curious about
the pesticides they noticed being routinely applied at the orange farms
in their area. "How do the chemicals affect the food we consume and
the primarily Latino farm workers who pick it?" they asked. With encouragement from teachers Chris Smithers and Jeff Madrigal, the youngsters
decided to dig into these types of questions so they could raise community awareness.
The teaching team had students think about
the variety of viewpoints and contradictions they might encounter, and
to consider the reliability of facts versus opinions. Thus inspired, the class decided
to try to present a balanced, unbiased perspective so community members
could reach their own conclusions. Questions in hand, the students
conducted research on the Internet and in local libraries and newspapers,
and they set up interviews with local growers and agencies. Next, they used what they'd gleaned to publish a pamphlet, in Spanish and English, detailing the pros and cons
of pesticide use and the ways in which crop pickers can protect themselves.
A Cesar Chavez Day celebration proved an ideal context for distributing
the materials to farm workers and consumers.
The Giving Garden
When several classes of 6 to 9 year olds in West Salem, WI, pondered
how they might take action to help their community, they had the idea of
planting a garden to help feed hungry families. To find out whether
there really was really a need for food donations, the kids invited
a staff member from a local food pantry to meet with them. The mandate
was clear – 50 local families did rely on the food pantry donations
for their sustenance – but the project was daunting. When the youngsters
put out an appeal for help, junior and senior high school students stepped
in to prepare the site; families later signed up for summer garden
maintenance shifts. Students now practice leadership and weave science,
math, and economics into the garden and community hunger project. But,
say teachers Barb Thompson and Dave Langer, especially meaningful is
the time they spend reflecting, in discussions and journals, on the
concept of community. Trips to the food pantry, for instance, sparked
questions about why a community would need such a service, which led to
discussions about job and wage loss and poverty.
Service-Learning Project Ideas
Here are some more glimpses of growing projects from the field that can help kids and
communities flourish.
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Students explore local food heritage by interviewing
families and community members about culturally relevant plants, foods,
gardening methods, and recipes. They create a garden, visitor's guide,
and cookbook reflecting the cultural diversity of the community.
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Young stewards extend their habitat project by forming
a group called Children's Environmental Outreach. They take what they've
learned and educate others – via PowerPoint and personal presentations
– about how to protect habitats. They also help build a wildflower
garden in a local park.
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A team of students and neighbors work to transform a
ravaged community by building partnerships and creating a space for
respite, solace, and positive interaction among residents.
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At-risk kids develop business, career, academic, and
social skills by starting and maintaining a green business venture.
They sell produce at affordable prices in their low-income neighborhood.
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Middle and high school students re-establish native
vegetation on their school grounds and a preserve. They create a newsletter,
video, and CD-ROM to educate parents, students, residents, news media,
and the local government about the importance of native species.
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Youngsters write newsletters and articles to make the
community aware of waste management issues and teach people about
composting. They hold composting demonstrations in the schoolyard.
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Before planning a schoolyard habitat, students survey
community members about their ideas, concerns, use of the site, and
elements they would like to see. A habitat steering committee emerges
that consists of students, faculty, staff, and neighbors.
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Students who are concerned about the impact of neighborhood
development on plants and creatures create a wildlife habitat. They incorporate interpretive signs, a field guide for visitors, and
materials describing how citizens can protect and support wildlife.
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Several classrooms setup a community/school garden on
city land and rent plots at reasonable prices to city-dwellers. Intergenerational
friendships and learning take off as students and seniors tend plots
and serve as mentors to one another.
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Letting
Students Take the Lead
In exemplary service-learning ventures, teachers relinquish
some control and give students responsibility for working together
to shepherd a project through. Challenging? Yes, but worth the
effort, says teacher Teddy Johnson from Athens, GA.
"I try to support students' efforts with resources and ideas,
when appropriate. But whenever possible, I let them take the
lead. I had to be much more flexible to allow students time to
puzzle out problems, listen to each other, and reach agreement
before decisions were made. Although it was sometimes slow and
tedious, they really did work through issues together. They learned
that the responsibility for democracy can be challenging, but
so can the gains."
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Getting Started
with Service-Learning
At its core, service-learning involves kids in assessing community needs
(or problems), collaborating to propose solutions, and taking action.
How you approach this will depend on your unique context, teaching goals,
and students' developmental levels. For instance, young students might
take on a simple project, such as bringing homegrown flowers to nursing
home residents and swapping stories. Older students might tackle an
in-depth project aimed at addressing environmental challenges plaguing
the community. In either case, here are some factors you should consider.
Planning and Taking Action
Some teachers start by reviewing learning goals (ideally, with students) and then identifying community projects that would meet local
needs and tie in these standards. In other cases, students identify
a need or problem in the community that sparks their interest and the
teacher (or class) examines how to integrate curricular goals with the
proposed project. Before fleshing out a plan, students may need
to further assess local needs or problems, research their scope, find
out who is addressing the issues, and identify local resources and partnerships
to support the process. In either case, consider these questions as
you plan and move forward.
Reflecting on the Process
By providing opportunities for student reflection during the course
of a service-learning project (via discussions, writing, presentations,
and artistic projects), you enable students to process and apply what
they've learned - about themselves, their communities, effecting change,
problem solving, and academic concepts. When you ask such questions
as, What worked well? What can be improved? How can we use what we've
learned? and What new questions or "ahas" do we have? you help students
think critically and build meaning from their experiences.
Celebrating Success
It's good practice to wrap up a service-learning project by creating opportunities to recognize the contributions and achievements
of students and project partners. These might include soliciting media coverage, holding a community
event (e.g., community garden dedication), or having a school-wide awards
ceremony.
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