Blackburn Laboratory Middle School

Rather than a simple beautification project, the Community Learning Garden and Outdoor Classroom is intended to provide curricular support for BLMS faculty, and hands-on learning opportunities for students. In addition to supporting standard general education subject areas, the garden will provide educational programming focused on nutrition and healthy lifestyles, as well as environmental sustainability. Given the school's unique location on the Jackson State University (JSU) campus, the garden will also provide mentoring and service-learning opportunities for JSU students, staff and faculty. Additionally, the West Jackson region surrounding BLMS and JSU is currently the subject of a redevelopment plan by the City of Jackson and various community organizations. The garden will assist in revitalizing this struggling area, and produce from the garden will be available to low-income residents in the surrounding neighborhoods.