Hampton Hills school near London plants Honeycrisp

Hampton Hills Junior School just west of London has a great school garden we visited in March. Here are the students planting the Honeycrisp apple tree we gave them. We look forward to seeing this tree when the class visits again next March and learning about apples in England and Minnesota. Apples are one of the 10 Plants that Changed Minnesota and a super plant for school gardens and for eating all year long.  

End of the year

Now that the semester has finally come to an end I'd like to write a recap of the last month working with Columbia Heights School District.  I was privileged to visit and teach at the school district on two different days.  On April 26th I visited North Park elementary and worked with three different classes. On May 3rd I worked with a total of five classes.  Two high school classes, one middle school class, and two elementary classes.

On the first visit I got my feet wet with teaching younger kids on how to plant seeds.  This was very enjoyable because it was fun to see the kids willing to get their hands a little dirty breaking up the soil.  This is something the older kids on the second visit did not want to do. 

On the second visit I was filmed by the Jeffers Foundation for a second grade class.  The foundation is constructing a year long video on school gardens and how they are incorporated into the classrooms as vehicles to teach the students.  To my understanding they were happy with the footage the had received and planned on continuing to shoot until the winter of 2013. 

Overall I had a very enjoyable time in the Successful School Gardens class at the U of M.  I would highly recommend this class to anyone interested in getting involed in teaching or working with younger kids.  As for now I am signing off.  Have a great summer everybody.

Sincerely,
Aaron

CBPA Fun Facts

To do a quick recap of Champlain-Brooklyn Park Academy for Math and Environmental Science, I want to list a few facts about the school.  CBPA is a public school, grades Kindergarten to 5th. There are about 760 kids total, with about 150 staff members. The first grade, which I got the wonderful privilege to teach about microgreens, has 7 classes with roughly 30 kids per class.  They have wonderful family volunteers that come in now and again to help out with anything they can.  There were a few that I was able to meet when working with the 1st grade, and they really love the way the school is run and being able to help out there!  Their garden program is run using a 20'x40' greenhouse, 11 raised garden beds (2 for each class except 5th grade who get 1), and a Greeting Garden in the front of the school.  The Hennepin County Master Gardeners play a big roll in helping out the teachers and classes by giving lessons to the students and being a big part of the gardens. Since the garden program was started at CBPA (three years at their current location), the staff have seen much more student interest in outside activity and have heard from parents about their enthusiasm to help out with the gardens at home.  Also, composting has been taken up in the school kitchen, and the entire school has become more environmentally conscious.

As for the curriculum, all 6 different grades learn something new this year; the students then have something new to look forward to in the garden every year. The Kindergarden learn about and plant perennials; the 1st graders have a Food Plate that is taught through the health class.  2nd graders grow a butterfly garden using perennials; 3rd grade learn about Prairie Restoration in their social studies class. The 4th graders learn about Plants Per Region in their social studies class, and the 5th graders have a flower garden and plant hanging baskets.  The hanging baskets are then sold at the end of the school year to pay for an end-of-the-year party, new greenhouse materials, and the rest is donated to the local food shelf.                   

The kids were so much fun to work with and were really excited to learn in the greenhouses. They all sat and listened very well while I taught them plant needs and parts and worked well together when I sent them to plant and harvest the microgreens.  CBPA has a great hold on their gardening program, thanks to the local master gardeners and the wonderful staff they have.  Most of the teachers showed a lot of interest in the greenhouse, but there were a few who were not very comfortable.  I think that, to better the gardening program at CBPA, the teachers could get a lesson(s) on how to teach about plants. I think that this would make them more willing to teach with plants, because they would feel more like they know what they are doing.

I want to give an extra thank you to our wonderful professor, Mary Meyer. We could not have taken the class without her, and I really appreciate all that she has done for us!  

Thank you, Mary, so much for everything!

           

Ideas for Winter Teaching

Many teachers have a hard time teaching using garden-related ideas in the winter because there is no outside access to the garden, but there are plenty of things to keep kids busy while still keeping the garden in mind!

One idea is to plant a Windowsill Garden.  Simply collect all of your supplies, put a few small rocks in the bottom of the terra cotta pots for drainage, fill with dirt, and plant the seeds.  All that is needed are the following items:

•7" terra cotta pots - $27.80/20•Potting soil - $17.20 for 4 - 20 lb. bags•Small rocks (for drainage) - Free•Packets of seed - $20/10

Total Price:  $65.00

Another idea is to watch seeds sprout in a ziplock plastic bag.  Wet the paper towels just until moist throughout. Fold and place them into a plastic sandwich bag and set 5 seeds on the inside of the plastic but on the paper towel. Set the bags of seeds on a windowsill ledge and allow to sprout.  The kids would get a big kick out of this because they get to see the results very quickly.

Materials:

•Sandwich bags - $8/box

•Seed Packets - $20/10

•Paper towels - $0.67/1 roll

•Water

Total Price:  $28.67

Another easy classroom activity is to make a terrarium.  Place 4 small rocks in the bottom of a mason jar. Fill 1/2 way full with soil, and plant seeds/plants. Set in a window to grow.

Materials:

•Mason jars - $18/24-4 oz jars

•Rocks for drainage - Free

•Potting soil - $4.30/1-20 oz bag

•Plants - $72/24 succulent plants

oor $24/12 packets of seed

Total Price: $94.30 w/ plants

    or $46.30 w/ seeds

No matter what your age, crafts are always a big hit.  Everyone gets to come up with their own unique ideas, and it is a great way to get ready for the garden! Here are a few ideas:

•Decorate pots for-

    oGifts

    oPlant people

•Hand-painted plant markers

•Homemade Whirligigs

•Birdfeeders

Resources:

University of Vermont Extension. Winter Gardening Activities for Kids. http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/wintrfun.htm

Stark, Loni. Gardening Project: Planting herbs for a windowsill garden. http://www.starkinsider.com/2010/05/weekend-gardening-project-planting-herbs-for-a-window-sill-garden.html

Lyon, Jennie. How to:  Make a recycled glass terrarium. http://www.inhabitots.com/how-to-make-a-recycled-glass-terrarium/

Why are school gardens important?

School Gradens can be helpful to students in many ways, whether it's for the classroom or for life skills. While in England i saw how the garden had helped the students compared to the students i have seen and met who do not have a graden at school or even at home. Before working in the garden many students are/ have:
Causing problems in class
No interest
Complaining
Do not want to get dirty
No motivation or attention
hard time focusing in the classroom
bad eating habits inside school as well as oustide school
Little to no physical acitivty outside of school
Low self-esteem and confidence

Not only do they learn math, english, history, art, physical education, health, etc from the garden but they also learn life skills such as:
leadership, teamwork, community engagement
better eating habits, more willing to try new foods
more physical activity
more confidence, self esteem, outgoing
therapy

According to Impact of School Gardening on Learning, "Another teacher remarked that the garden was removed from the flashing images of computers and the busyness of the classroom, and therefore gave the pupils more opportunity to be quiet and reflective. This can be seen in the following quotation from one pupil, for whom the garden provided:

A chance to get away from everyone in the classroom. They're all noisy and they ain't listening and they start shouting. And then some of us get in trouble and it’s not even us; people wind you up.

'Most of these boys come with other baggage, which is what is causing them not to be able to focus in the classroom and to display challenging behaviour. When boys have got their hands dirty they talk, they talk and get it off their chest without realising it and possibly without remembering afterwards what they've talked about. But they've gone through that process and they feel lighter because they have talked about it.'"

After working in the garden the students:
Students change their opinion of the garden being "cool"
More willing to learn and tech, help others
More focus and motivation in the classroom
Greater understanding of school subjects
Are able to step away from commotion and calmly reflect on homework, personal issues, etc.
Gives them a sense of accomplishments and a sense of purpose

Small Space - What to Do?

Click here to see a project on "Bringing Gardening to the Classroom in a Small Space" or click here to see the presentation on "Bringing Gardening to the Classroom in a Small Space". The project consists of 3 different projects which would brighten up the outside and inside of a school. They are easy to follow and have room for creativity. Enjoy!

The 3 Creative Projects

Eating Microgreens at CBPA

Harvesting Microgreens at Champlin Brooklyn Park Academy

Today we harvested our 10 day old microgreens with four 1st grade classes at CBPA.  The kids had a lot of fun.
We started off by talking about plant parts.  We each pulled one microgreen up, roots and all, to look at the plant parts.

First we looked at the roots.  Then we cut the roots off to look at the stem, and we all took a bite.  A lot of the kids thought the stem tasted like carrots.  Then we talked about the two kinds of leave on the microgreens- seed leaves and the first true leaves.  The kids tasted both of these plant parts and talked about what they tasted like. 

Then came harvest time. Each of the kids cut off a pile of microgreens, washed them, and ate them with crackers.  Some of the kids harvested some extras to take home and share with their families.

The microgreens sandwich was a huge hit.  Even the kids who said they didn't like the taste ate a few.  It was definitely apparent that they enjoyed eating them more because they planted them and watched them grow.  I'm sure the kids were also proud to bring some home to share.

 










Here's our new recipe: a bunch of sunflower microgreens sandwiched between two Ritz crackers.

Last Wednesday was our final time visiting the MNIC school. We started out by making posters about what consumers looked for when buying microgreens.  The students split into groups of 3 to 4 and created posters that discussed product quality, customer service, price, source, benefits, and production methods.  We then had a Chef E. from Big E's Soul Food come in to discuss what he looks for when buying microgreens.  We had the students prepare questions to ask Chef E. during his presentation.


Chef E. loved talking about the importance of microgreens at his restaurant.  He praised the students for how great the microgreens looked and was very interested in purchasing microgreens from the students on a weekly basis.   

Here, a student is negotiating a price for his tray of microgreens with Chef E.

Working at the MNIC has been a great experience for Tiereny, Jenny, and I. We have loved working with the students and teaching them about horticulture. Hopefully, we will be able to come back again.

CPBA

Champlain Brooklyn Park Academy

The first time visiting Champlain Brooklyn Park Academy, I contacted one of the many Master Gardeners that volunteers at this school:  Mary Cichon. She was more than glad to give me a ride there and was a huge help with setting up.  When Mary and I first arrived at the school, the buses were just arriving to drop the students off for classes.  We gathered supplies and headed through the school to the greenhouse. CPBA is such a neat school! There is plenty of artwork adorning the hallway walls; the theme for Kindergarten right now is Sunflowers by Van Gogh, so there is plenty of flower paintings.

The first graders were so much fun to work with!  All of them were very enthusiastic and had plenty of great answers to my questions.  I started out by asking what plants need to grow:  water, sunlight, soil (nutrients), and air (oxygen).  There wasn't one class that I needed to fill in the answers for; they knew every one.  I then showed the students how they were supposed to plant them.  First fill the bottom of the trays half full with soil. Then sprinkle the seeds on top.  I gave them the amount of seeds that were needed for one tray and told them to use all of them.  Next, sprinkle enough soil on top of the seeds just so that they are covered.  The final step was watering.  With the help of Mary and the class' teacher(s), we were able to supervise 4 groups at a time.  Each of the four classes were able to plant four trays of microgreens.  They each took one tray back to the classroom to be able to observe the growing of the plants until we harvested 2 weeks later.

The following Wednesday, I returned to CPBA with Mary Meyer to harvest microgreens with the other 3 classes that Becca G. planted with 2 weeks prior.  These classes were just as behaved and fun to work with as the last ones.  I started out by asking if the students remembered what was needed for plants to grow, and there were many hands up, willing to answer.  I then talked about the different parts of the plants.  I showed them the roots, stem and the 2 different type of leaves (true leaves are the smaller, fuzzier ones,  and seed leaves are the bigger ones). Next I showed them how they were to cut the microgreens about 1 inch from the bottom of the leaves (I just showed them where), rinse them off in the tub of water, and put them on a plate.  They got to try them with Ritz crackers and by themselves. Many of the students really liked them, but many didn't.  Each class had a different amount of kids in each category.  Once everyone got to cut their microgreens, we got together and tried the different parts of the plant, talking about texture and taste.  Compared to the other parts of the microgreens, the stem had a very bland taste, the true leaves had a rough texture and a very gross taste and the seed leaves were very smooth and sweet and the students that said they like microgreens liked this part the best.  They were then able to cut and clean as many as they would like to put in a ziplock bag and take home with them.  Most of the students were really happy for this!  Even some students that didn't like the microgreens cut some to bring home and have their family try them.

Going to Champlain Brooklyn Park Academy was a really great experience, and I am really glad that I got to work with the students and teach them something new!  I give my thanks to all of the first grade teachers that Becca G. and I worked with, Mary Cichon and Mary Meyer for transportation, and Denise Schnabel for helping set everything up.

North Park Elementary

Last Friday (April 26th) Aaron and I went to North Park Elementary in Fridley.

We met with 2 - kindergarten classes we took the lead and taught the classes individually how to plant chili peppers and cauliflower. They were so excited to get their hands dirty and one of the little girls asked me "Can you stay here?" They loved having visitors and getting the opportunity to switch up their "normal" schedule. We also met with a 1st grade class who had planted Marigolds. We spoke to them about the requirements for seed germination. They enjoyed being able to interact with us and were interested in what we had to say. We also talked about how not all plants need the same requirements (cactus), and what plants look like (all of them are different of course!). They also wanted us to talk about college (why it's important, what we do, what it's like, etc). Over all it was a great experience interacting with the children and hearing the joy in the classroom.

Last Wednesday was another successful day at the MNIC school.  The class size was a little smaller than we expected, but the lesson plan still ran smoothly.  At the beginning of the class period, we looked at the micro-greens the students planted two weeks ago. We discussed how they grew and then the class planted another batch of micro-greens.  In our next activity, we asked the students to make posters that demonstrated what plants need to grow. The students got very creative and made some great posters. My favorite part of the lesson was determining the parts of the plants that we eat. For example, broccoli is the flower portion of the plant.  Overall, the lesson was a success. The students now have a better grasp for parts of a plant and what plants need in order to grow.

In the following pictures, the students are trying to decide which part of a plant the coffee bean and a head of lettuce belong to.

   

School Garden Criticism and a movie

Hey All,

I mentioned this article once in class.  "Cultivating Failure" It's about how school gardens don't prepare students properly.  I think most people who know anything about education theory or school gardens disagree with the points in this popular 2010 article in The Atlantic, but it's always good to be familiar with your opposition!

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/01/cultivating-failure/307819/

This next one, is a St. Paul teacher/volunteer talking about The Atlantic article and other criticisms she has experienced from urban students

http://grist.org/food/2011-11-09-food-studies-talking-about-race-in-school-gardens/


On a totally opposite note, this documentary "Food Beware" is about a town in France that has all food in it's cafeteria and hospitals local and organically produced.  I should warn you that it is very one-sided, but it's super inspirational and I highly recommend it.  My favorite quote from the mayor of this town is something like:  "Many people ask me how we can afford to eat organic and local food in our schools and public institutions, and I tell them 'you can't put a price on your conscious.'"

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/70124890?strkid=859220590_0_0&trkid=222336&movieid=70124890

Enjoy the next couples days of good weather! Jake told me it's going to drop down again starting Wednesday :/  See y'all in class tomorrow

Jenny

Honeycrisp!

Since a few of our partner schools are getting Honeycrisp apple trees, I thought I would write up a post about one of the most famous fruits developed at the University of Minnesota.

Photo courtesy zomppa.com

Malus domestica 'Honeycrisp' was originally bred in 1960 at the University of Minnesota's Horticultural Research Center and designated as MN 1711.  It was released for commercial production in 1991 and has been a big hit ever since.  In fact, the Honeycrisp was designated the official state fruit of Minnesota in 2006 after a petition from a group of elementary students was sent to the state legislature.  They are growing in popularity worldwide, with production really taking off in New Zealand and parts of Europe.

Honeycrisps are great for storing over long periods and are known for their crisp bite and mixture of tart and sweet taste.  They are good for eating raw or in baked goods. 

Hopefully the trees going to our partner schools will be highly productive and shower them with crisp, delicious Honeycrisp apples!

Champlin Brooklyn Park Academy Microgreens Project

I visited Champlin Brooklyn Park Academy on Wednesday to plant microgreens with the first grade class.  We had a blast!  They have a beautiful greenhouse with lots of projects getting started. When we arrived, some fourth grade students were doing their daily job watering all the seedlings.  

I met with three first grade classes, so about 60 students throughout the morning. We went through the steps of planting the microgreens while talking about what plants need to grow.  The students had very thoughtful answers.  We also talking about what the word "micro" means so that the student could figure out on their own what a microgreen was.  

For our microgreens, we planted black oil sunflower seeds. I was really impressed by how many students were able to guess what the kind of seed it was.

The first graders were really excited to get their hands dirty.  It was great to see how engaged they all were.  There wasn't a singe student who wasn't interested in the activity in some way.  They worked well in their groups and were proud to show us their finished flat of seeds.

The kids dirty hands show how hard they worked!

I learned a lot about what works with kids and am really excited to plan the next visit, when we will harvest the microgreens and talk about the different parts of a plant.  I think the most important thing that I learned is that kids LOVE playing with soil.  Next time, I want to give them as much time as possible to do that.   Also, the more people you have there to help, the better. I'm glad that Mary was able to come along and lend a hand.

 Overall, I think the day went well!  My objectives for the lesson were to help the kids learn about plant needs and provide teachers with a fun indoor gardening activity and I feel like I accomplished that.  We had a fun day and I look forward to our next visit!

As Jenny mentioned earlier, visiting the Minnesota Internship Charter School was a success. We got to meet some great students with a genuine interest in horticulture.  It was a fun experience to look at the school's aquaponic system and see what the students knew about horticulture. We will be meeting with the YEA corps again this Friday to discuss our lesson plan for next week.

The whole class got a chance to grow their own micro-greens.

Tierney got to sit down and talk with students about the anatomy of seeds.

Jenny was showing a student how to sew micro-green seeds.

Tierney created a fun game where the students were shown a picture and had to decide if it was a micro green of a sprout.

MNIC First Teaching

Abby, Tierney, and I did our first teaching at MNIC yesterday, and I thought it went really well.  I think Abby took some pictures so maybe she can add them :)

We started by going around the room saying our names, where we're from, and something we did over spring break.  If we repeat this activity again (which I think we should because the students really enjoy discussion time), we need to make it faster and a more engaging/less distracting topic.  Tierney had the idea in the car on the way back that we should have everyone say name and one idea for marketing microgreens.

Next, we asked everyone what they know about microgreens.  We wrote the discussion points on the board.  After that I taught basic seed anatomy (seed coat, plumule, hypocotyl, radical, cotyledon) with a drawing on the board.  We discussed what each was and its function in the seed.  After this we planted microgreens in small Driscols quart containers.

Next, Tierney led a discussion about the differences between microgreens and sprouts.  After the discussion, we did an activity that I thought was really successful.  Tierney passed out pictures of sprouts and of microgreens and students had to say whether or not their picture was a sprout or a microgreen and why.  The students were paying attention and participating the whole time and it tied in really nicely to the seed anatomy lesson. 

Finally we ended the hour with a review game for seed anatomy.  I thought this activity was also really successful because the students were paying attention and participating.  I passed out 10 cards--5 had definitions of each part of the seed, and 5 had pictures and names of these parts.  Students had to find their matching card and then we reviewed all the answers as a class.  


We gave MNIC the rest of our soil and seeds, and as we were leaving students from the class were showing some late comers how to sow the microgreens :)  Overall, I thought we did pretty well.  We are meeting with YEA corp again on Friday to plan what we will be doing next time!

How is everyone else doing with teaching?

Have a great weekend!


Jenny

From abandoned lot to lush garden

It's hard to believe that this used to be an abandoned lot in one of the world's most populous cities:

 

Christchurch school in London has taken a once empty, trash-strewn lot and turned it into an urban oasis filled with beautiful raised beds, a greenhouse, and a forthcoming shed for tools.  The garden serves as a place for the children to learn about growing their own food and the importance of caring for our environment.  We visited the school to learn more about the garden and how it is integrated into the curriculum.

 We met with a classroom full of students and worked with them directly one on one in the garden, sowing seeds and learning about the care needed for plants to germinate.  The students were attentive and eager to learn, and it was obvious that they were very proud of their beautiful garden.  One student told me that he and his friends used to play in the empty lot and called it a "wasteland", but said that now it's a beautiful place that can be enjoyed by all.  He was very happy with the changes being made by the school, and he was eager to show me around the various nooks and crannies of the garden.


After we bade the students farewell, a few of us stuck around to help prune trees grown in the French Espalier style.

Turning once-abandoned lots into productive places to grow food and learn about nature is something that can be done anywhere in the world!  I encourage everyone reading this to think about novel ways in which we can use the spaces around us more effectively for the benefit of all.

Ron Finley TED Talk

Everyone should watch this super inspiring TED Talk urban gardens

http://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerilla_gardener_in_south_central_la.html

Kew Gardens

I loved spending time at Kew Gardens.  Getting to take a behind the scenes tour of their research labs was a pretty special honor.  For a horticulture student, standing in a room filled with THOUSANDS of dried plant specimens is kind of like letting a kid loose in a candy factory.  Upon returning home, I found out from my grandma that my grandfather does have plant specimens housed at Kew!

One of Four Wings of the Herbarium

After touring the labs, we were cut loose to explore the gardens.  Since a lot of the outdoor gardens weren't in full bloom yet (except the daffodils of course), I especially loved the glass house gardens.  They had more air plants on one pole than I have seen in my life.  The orchid collection was fabulous.  They had hundreds of cacti specimen, all displayed in terrariums throughout the conservatory. Overall, it was a lovely place, perfect for a chilly spring London day.

A Reflection..

What an amazing opportunity we had as individuals to go into schools in London and help them to improve and advance their school gardens.  The experience at each school was different, and rightfully so. Not only were we interacting with children of different ages, but with schools that were in areas with different populations entirely, whether that be due to financial difficulty or cultural background.

The first school we visited was Brandlehow Primary school in East Putney, a short tube ride from our home base in Earls Court. The school garden was well developed with a pond for observations as well as many different beds housing a wide variety of plants for the students to work with. Our group presented to a class of young children, year 1 I believe, about Minnesota grown or originated crops such as Honeycrisp Apples and Native Rice. The students were engaged and excited to learn about what we had to present.

Our class with the students at Brandlehow Primary

The second school we visited was Hampton Hill. We also had the pleasure of meeting a representative from the Royal Horticultural Society, Jim Bliss. This was the beginning of a more structured interaction with the schools, as we were able to help students in the classroom, as well as directly make an impact on their school garden buy helping students plant and work in it. I had the opportunity, along with Aaron to help students plant a pear tree in an area just past their playground, where students can sit and visit. 

Myself with a selection of student from Hampton Hill with the pear tree they named "Fred"

The third school we visited was one that serviced children in a more impoverished area of London. Christ Church School has come an incredibly long way in the success of education for their students in the last decade, and a huge part of their success can be attributed to their garden. Students were incredibly excited to show us the work they had done, as well as explain the future plans they had for their beautiful garden. We helped these students plant tomatoes, and some of the group later helped to prune fruit trees. Jim Bliss also was present at this school to help facilitate the students work in the garden. It was obvious that the students recognized Jim, and were overjoyed to get to listen to his plans for the afternoon. 

Myself with Shae, Harry, and the tomatoes we planted for their beds

The fourth and final school we visited was a secondary school in an impoverished area as well. This school has also made great strides in its ability to reduce violence and give children a quality education. Their garden was by far the largest and had the most undertakings. They also had chickens and rabbits as a part of their project. While we did not work directly with students at this school, we did have the opportunity to visit with educators and discuss the challenges that their school, and England as a whole faces when it comes to gardening in the schools and encouraging students to pursue career paths in this important industry. We also had the pleasure of meeting four students from Phoenix that were interested in gardening and taking horticulture classes. 

Our group with educators from Phoenix Secondary

I had such a wonderful time in England and feel blessed to have met so many wonderful people and had the opportunity to make an impact on the lives of so many students. 

More next time on some of the more "touristy" things I did, as well as different sights I had the pleasure of visiting! 

Love, Heidie