In a world where our children are bombarded with processed foods and an overall lack of exposure to nature it is crucial to educate our students in regard to nutrition and our natural world. It is our belief that by teaching our students the various aspects of growing harvesting and preparing nutrious foods from a very young age we can not only educate them in regard to the importance of nutrition but also foster an appreciation of the environmental well-being of our community.
The grant will make it possible for our FoodCorps members to work with 5 schools in Des Moines to build and revitalize school gardens. In addition through the special projects funding we request we will provide a 5-week school garden training in early 2012 to teams of at least 2 people (teachers social workers parents etc.) at a dozen schools. This training will introduce these school teams to basic gardening techniques curriculum that aligns with Iowa Core and garden planning activities.
We would like to use the garden to build a bridge between our different school populations and community. We have a special education population which would benefit greatly from the opportunity to plant seeds touch soil see the productive use of sunlight and water. Our school also serves mostly economically disadvantaged students who need the handson experiences provided through a garden. We have received a commitment from our culinary arts teacher to use the produce we produce.
The grant will fund a container garden as part of an overall wellness program encompassing nutrition gardening and physical activity. Starting in Spring 2012 our Community Partner will teach a curriculum where all kindergartners will learn to understand and appreciate the source and nature of their food and be introduced to the basics of gardening including maintenance tools and plant botany. The container garden will allow these skills to be developed in a real garden setting.
Students in the program plan, plant, harvest, and distribute fresh garden produce to the school kitchen, the culinary arts program, and The Open Door food pantry.
The mission of our garden project is to provide an outdoor space that energizes engages & enriches our students while providing encouragement for responsible eating and reduce childhood obesity. We envision our new space to have the following components: education for proper eating a vegetable garden an outdoor reading garden a play space with social games & a nature trail. Being an Expeditionary Learning school we would use the space to enhance our lessons around our key design principals.
Our goal is to create a peace garden aligned with the school's Montessori principles. This will mean plots dedicated to produce but also places committed to butterflies birds and specific beneficial bugs a place for water and a space for reflection. We intend to involve each of our classrooms and all of our students in the gardening process and would ultimately like to serve our produce in our cafeteria. The grant will help us get the garden fully established with the appropriate tools.
This garden grant will allow us to strengthen ties to student families and the general community. Our hope is to teach our students how to grow fruits and vegetables in our region and to educate their families to do the same. We also hope to teach our students and their families about good nutrition choices.
The primary goal for our garden is to create a space where our students can not only learn about where their food comes from and help cultivate produce but also create a space where all of our school's therapy focuses can merge into one therapeutic learning environment. Each therapy group and class level will have access to this space and be able to create specific programming to incorporate gardening skills and education concerning cultivation.
The grant will allow us to expand our garden projects which were created to inspire students to grow harvest prepare and appreciate fresh organic food..By expanding the gardens we create more opportunities for more students and community members to become involved we make more local fresh food available and we build more skills and more community capacity.
