The Greensboro Montessori School Permaculture Gardening Program

The Permaculture Gardening Program at Greensboro Montessori School nurtures each child’s appreciation and understanding of the natural world and builds ecologically responsible citizens by involving them in the seasonal cycles of planting, harvesting, and sharing the food grown in an organic, Permaculture garden. The Greensboro Montessori School is a privately run school in Greensboro, North Carolina serving students and families from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, and nationalities. The permaculture gardens on campus have been flourishing for almost 20 years and were begun by Dr. Charlie Headington - professor, permaculture teacher, local activist - in 1997. Students participate in weekly hands-on, experiential lessons where they plant, water, harvest, weed, cook, and explore the garden. Garden Curriculum is based on seasonal cycles, the garden environment, and the age of the students according to Montessori philosophy. In all levels (Primary, Lower, and Upper Elementary) we teach about soil, decomposition and compost, pollination, and bio-diversity. The depth and detail of these lessons varies, but these are core concepts that are important throughout the program. Kitchen curriculum is seasonal and fully integrated into the garden. By working with the produce they grow and harvest themselves, our GMS students are more likely to eat the nutritionally dense foods they prepare together, as a community. For the child that struggles to find their place in the garden, we find the kitchen classroom serves their needs and interests. Maria Montessori herself said: "How often is the soul of man - especially that of a child - deprived because one does not put him in contact with nature?" To discover one's full potential, one must comprehend themselves as a part of the cosmos. It is difficult to know the richness of your own potential until you reach out and touch the soil that makes it possible. Nature and the gardens enrich lives, and help build whole children, who understand that to nurture the earth, is to nurture themselves, their friends, their neighbors, and the world.