South View Middle School Courtyard Garden

Our overall project goal is to develop an under-utilized courtyard area into a vegetable and herb garden starting in the 2013-14 school year, and to use the garden as a living laboratory to enrich middle school student learning. Specific aims are to: - guide students in the garden layout and design process (24 math students), - involve students, parents and staff in garden construction and maintenance (50-100 people), - instruct students on how to optimize conditions for growing plants (325 science students), - bring awareness to the global and local issues of hunger, nutrition and health, and serve a community need through donating crops the local food shelf (325 government students), - provide education on nutrition and healthy eating choices (325 health/325 consumer science students), - develop self-sustaining practices through crop sales at school and other venues (30 Cooking and Gardening Club students), and - engage students in learning about the process of civic responsibility, local environmental stewardship, and agriculture and ecosystems through work with community partner, Community Bees on Bikes (60 AP US Government students). By providing support for raised beds, soil, and tools, we envision that this grant will have a significant and positive impact on the SVMS school curriculum and school community by encouraging students to become active participants in the learning process.