Irondale Middle School

Our goal is to introduce kids to good nutrition and growing a garden for food and beauty. Secondary to that but equal in importance is to help kids learn hands-on science, food science/cooking from your garden, writing about a step-by-step process, and we will also use math skills with our garden. My personal goal for the garden is to give kids an experience of being connected to the earth. Many of our students have never planted a seed and I would like for them to have the opportunity of germaninating a seed. I would like for them to connect science vocabulary to something that makes sense for them like "germination". It would be awesome for them to see this in action.
We also want to teach our students about the slow food movement, nutritious eating, and the delicious way of eating with herbs for seasoning your food. Our school community has a variety of students who have learned about nutrition and some who have not. Once they taste the freshness of a garden and the food being "right there" literally at the back door of the school, I feel sure the garden will have an impact on a whole community of people. Our students come from a variety of unincorporated areas of Jefferson County so we have an opportunity to impact people all over Birmingham through growing a garden.