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More and more schools are finding ways to take education outdoors.

Story and photo by Suzie Boss

On an early March morning, unseasonably warm weather has coaxed the daffodils into a display of color near the front doors to Chief Joseph Elementary School in North Portland. But the real action, nature-wise, is unfolding a short stroll down the sidewalk where four students are pulling weeds and shoveling compost onto garden beds. Teacher Eric Olson makes sure they're digging into science at the same time they're turning over topsoil.

When a girl named Melissa stops weeding to scoop up a caterpillar, the other students gather for a quick look. "It's a different color than the one you found a few minutes ago, isn't it?" Olson asks. As she returns the fuzzy insect to its habitat, Olson turns his attention to the boy shoveling compost out of a truck bed. "How warm is it?" the teacher asks, and the boy plunges his hand into the pile to get a reading. "Wow! It's hot!" the surprised student discovers. And that gives Olson the perfect opening to explain the chemical reaction that occurs when brown and green plant matter comes into contact with dirt and bacteria.

For a decade, Olson, 53, has been developing this school garden as an earthy extension of the classroom. Tucked between the building and the sidewalk and set off by a chain-link fence, the garden gives urban students a chance to learn about everything from botany to bugs, from organic chemistry to cooperation. The garden is also a reminder that school grounds shouldn't be overlooked as places that offer powerful opportunities for learning.

"There's something in our genes that makes us want to dig in the dirt," says Olson, who likes nothing better than getting his own hands dirty — unless it's watching a student make a discovery. A 17-year classroom veteran, Olson won the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching presented by the National Science Foundation last year.

Across the Northwest — indeed, all over the country-educators are finding similarly creative ways to turn school sites into environmental labs, wildlife habitats, and green spaces bursting with flowers and food crops. Although projects can become quite elaborate — connecting outdoor environments with indoor science and technology labs, integrating public art into garden plots, or involving students in growing the foods served in the school cafeteria — school gardens can also be effective on a simple scale.

The school garden at Chief Joseph, for instance, began as a humble patch of grass alongside a bare school wall. "I thought it was too small at first," admits Olson, who had a grander scheme in mind. But when he assigned his students to prepare environmental impact statements, comparing potential sites around the campus, they convinced him that this spot on the south side of the building would work. "It has water nearby, it's close to the classrooms, and it gets good sunlight," he says. "It works."

Having a knowledgeable advocate like Olson on staff is a key to making a school garden flourish. "You need someone to supply continuing energy," acknowledges Leslie Pohl-Kosbau with Portland Community Gardens. She and her co-workers have helped nurture school gardens in all sorts of settings, including an ambitious project at Woodlawn Elementary in Northeast Portland.

As Woodlawn Principal Marian Young explained recently, "The garden is a wonderful living metaphor of the growth we seek to achieve for the children and the 'village' of supporting adults around them." The Woodlawn Garden, with the support of Portland Community Gardens and other community groups, has benefited from having a part-time garden coordinator position funded through grants. The coordinator not only helps teachers tie garden projects to the curriculum, but also works in the garden with children after school and during the summer months.

Around the region, different models have been used to organize and sustain school gardens. In addition to collaborations with community gardening programs, some schools engage students in service learning, growing produce for local food banks, for instance. Other schools recruit help from master gardeners trained by university extension programs. In the Tacoma area, Washington State University Cooperative Extension has developed a 4-H experiential learning curriculum called Growing With Plants. Lessons on plant ecology and human nutrition help children see the connection between their own growth, the food they eat, and where food comes from.

Amy Sutton, Resource Specialist with NWREL's Mathematics and Science Education Center, notes the untapped potential residing in school gardens. "British educators call it 'schoolyard learning' — they recognize the many contexts for learning that school gardens and grounds offer." Besides the rich possibilities for science, mathematics, literacy, social studies, and art, Sutton sees another level of benefits. Gardening and closely observing the natural world give children much-needed opportunities to develop a relationship with nature. "The act of planting seeds, tending, and harvesting helps young learners feel the excitement of nature," she says. "They begin to feel responsibility for their environment at the same time they realize a sense of control over their environment."

Sutton believes gardens grow healthy relationships as well as nutritious food. Working in gardens helps students practice teamwork and communication skills, while involving families and the larger community reinforces a sense of connection.

Gardens also help teachers address students' diverse needs and interests, Sutton adds. Stepping outside the classroom to answer a question, plant seeds, or observe insects on flowers not only adds variety to the curriculum, but also motivates many students who are less engaged in the usual class routines. Students who strain to sit still in class may be captivated — and stimulated — watching a beetle make its way through a just-turned pile of dirt. When students have the opportunity to ask their own questions about things that interest them and discover the answers, they are taking vital steps to becoming lifelong learners.

Other lessons that experienced school gardeners have learned:

• Make the garden an easy resource for teachers to use "You don't want teachers to feel guilty," says Olson, or that tending a garden plot is one more thing they have to do. He works with students to prepare a garden bed for each classroom to plant and nurture, and helps other teachers see how garden projects tie into standards in areas such as math, science, and writing. Similarly, Sutton recommends creating opportunities for teachers with no gardening experience to "get comfortable in the garden."

• Keep work groups small Olson "borrows" a handful of students at a time to help him in the school garden. That allows for easier crowd control and creates more teachable moments. "Kids need time to discuss and play," he says, in order to make their own discoveries.

• Be inclusive "Gardens work great with TAG (talented and gifted) kids, because they tend to see things that others might miss. And gardens are also great learning places for special education kids," says Olson. He recalls a girl from Somalia who was having difficulty cooperating in the classroom. "But to see her work with the earth — it was an act of love. Gardens offer a place where kids can discover themselves."

• Build partnerships Sutton encourages schools to build collaborations with community resources, which might include university extension, youth groups, garden clubs, botanical gardens, or business sponsors.

• Have clear rules Olson starts building good work and safety habits with first-graders. He delights in seeing older students coach younger ones not to trample growing plants or harm insects, to clean up as they go, to use tools safely. "These may seem like little things, but they're important concepts," he says.

• Think year-round Depending on local weather conditions, school gardens can offer opportunities for learning across all seasons. In Alaska and Montana, some schools use greenhouses or raised beds to extend the short growing season. Because Olson lives near Chief Joseph School, he stops by to water and tend the garden beds over the summer and takes delight when students see the results in September.

• Have fun Woodlawn's school garden includes a circular "pizza garden," where marigolds of different hues and pizza herbs like oregano grow atop eight "slices" of soil.

• Celebrate beauty Olson, who has worked as a professional gardener, knows that gardens offer the perfect setting to learn about design concepts such as line, color, shape, and space. Gardens provide a natural environment "to help a kid learn to look at things in an aesthetic way," he says. Sutton encourages recording the garden's growth with photos, children's drawings, and writing projects. And harvest times offer perfect opportunities to celebrate.

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Resources

Edible Schoolyard — Nurtured with the help of celebrity chef Alice Waters, the Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California, is one of the nation's best-known school gardens. Read about the transformation from cracked asphalt to half-acre green space on the Web site.
[www.edibleschoolyard.org]

National Gardening Association — More than 1,000 schools have joined the Garden in Every School Registry maintained by the National Gardening Association. See the Web site for more information.
[www.kidsgardening.com]

National Wildlife Federation — Schoolyard Habitat projects currently are underway at more than 1,100 schools. See the Web site for more information.
[www.nwf.org/schoolyardhabitats/]

Northwest Regional Educational Lab — Mathematics and Science Education Center has a variety of materials to help educators integrate gardening into their curriculum. Northwest educators may search the collection and request items online.
[(www.nwrel.org/msec/resource/]

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