Forest Hills Public Schools

1. Program and Pedagogy: We are in the process of developing our garden. We have taught students and teachers design thinking and are leading the students in this process for them to design, develop and implement the garden. The physics class is designing the irrigation system; calculus class is designing alternative energy; scientific research class has designed the compost system; special ed collects the compost; industrial arts class built the compost system; AP lit is designing a literary garden; AP Language is writing grants for funding; planning fundraisers and planning a placed-based education system; American History/American lit is designing the Victory garden etc. We want the students to have ownership of this garden; therefore, they are doing the planning and work as part of their content classes.

2. Mission: Our mission is to create a school-wide, community-wide, edible schoolyard that provides experiential learning opportunities. The garden will cultivate a vibrant, healthy environment and provide locally grown, fresh lunches fostering the physical, social and emotional well being of the community.

3. Population: Our poplulation is predominately white middle-upper class with a small poplutation of Asian and African American students. We have determined that even middle and upper middle class students need education that teaches sustainable practices and about the effects of the food that they eat on their bodies and brains. We want every student to have the opportunity to choose fresh fruits and vegtables at lunch, and taste test new recipes that utilize our garden produce. Ultimately, when we have established a vigorously healthy environment, we would like our students to share their learning with school districts throughout the county and city.