Midland Park Junior/Senior High School

The goal of the garden is to have students learn about soil, growing plants from seed, producing edible vegetables and fruits, plant care, propagation, sustainability, and composting as a form of recycling. Agriculture and farming to feed the world will be discussed. The garden will teach students how to garden and produce food to feed themselves and their families. Pollination by bees will be taught and the importance of bees in producing fruits and vegetables. The students will visually see the bees working in the garden to help understand how reproduction occurs.
This grant will enable our school to teach students about the land and how to have a sustainable future from the earth. Students will gain an understanding of how to take seeds, mix soil for optimum growth, plant seeds, care for the seeds until they germinate and transfer the seedlings into a garden. While the seeds are in the greenhouse germinating, the students will prepare the garden to receive the seedlings and plant the seedlings. Once in the garden, students will then learn how to care for the plants, work on producing maximum yield, controlling insects and disease. The objective is to teach all aspects of gardening and spark an interest in the many careers in horticulture, the field of agriculture, farming, landscaping, plant nursery or the floral field.

The Horticulture class includes:
Horticulture

Course Description:
Horticulture is designed to the help the student develop an in-depth understanding of the science and art of cultivating and processing plants for human use. Horticultural science encompasses all of the pure sciences physics, chemistry, geology, and biology as well as related sciences and technologies such as plant pathology, soil science, entomology, and many other scientific disciplines.
Students will apply the knowledge, skills, and technologies to produce plants for human food and non-food uses. Students will participate in a variety of in-class and out-of-class learning activities designed to teach them plant propagation, cultivation, improving plant growth, yields, quality, and resistance to insects, diseases, and environmental stresses. Successful horticulture depends on extensive control of the environment, including light, water, temperature, soil structure and fertility, pests and diseases. The green industry is all around you, from the food you eat to parks and landscaping. The green industry improves the quality of the environment and your life through plants.
Course Sequence:
Unit 1: An Overview of Plants
Unit 2: Plant Processes
Unit 3: Seeded Plants and Plant Reproduction
Unit 4: Feeding the World
Unit 5: Productivity, Irrigation and Pests

The Whole Kids Foundation grant will allow the Midland Park school system to start a "Community Garden" to involve all member of the community, both young and old to garden together. The grant would also expand our "green" initiative in our school with the Horticulture and Community Based Instruction (CBI) classes.