Upper Elementary

Piko, in Hawaiian, is the navel or place for being. Our learning garden, Piko, is the inspiration for our ‘place’ for being. Situated in the center of the lower-school classrooms, it is a gathering place, educational center, and our connection to the earth. It is our hands-on tool for exploring many of our inquiry units, part of our International Baccalaureate programs. When a local farmer said that our garden wouldn’t grow anything, we didn’t throw down the shovel; we dug in. We attended workshops. We created a round layered garden.

Our goal at Ridgewood Elementary School is to establish a sense of community in our students. In our inaugural garden year, we planted vegetables and flower seedlings that our third and fourth grade teachers had started in the windowsills of their classrooms. We had an outpouring of parental and volunteer support to water, weed, and harvest our gardens this summer. We were thrilled to fulfill our primary goal of connecting to the community by donating over 6 loads of produce to our local SON ministries and Hilliard Free Summer Lunch Program for students in need.

We have a 3-year-plan to reach our goal of creating a garden area that will enhance and extend the learning in our classrooms providing a variety of opportunities to apply knowledge in a hands-on, real-world setting. Objectives in math were taken into consideration during the design process so that our students who are learning about area and perimeter will have a place on campus to practice those skills. Composting and vermiculture in will bring to life the science objective of how soil is made through decomposition.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Edinburg RGV proposes to create a Garden to Table Culinary Art Program designed to provide hands-on opportunities for students to learn about sustainable living practices. Club members & their families will become experienced in gardening and will be active in the harvest, composting and recycling of much of the foods used in the program. The seeds planted and harvested by those participating in Horticulture will be passed on to those club members who are in the Culinary program.