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!