Instead of students looking longingly out of a classroom window, a new program seeks to transform outdoor gardens into spaces of learning.
The LifeCycles Project Society is already well known for its community gardens and as an advocate for food security.
Its Growing Schools Program, one of the first in sa国际传媒, expanded, in a great part, from a desire to connect youth with the outdoors and to show them where their food comes from.
The pioneering program, started in 1995, provides integrated school garden support across the capital region. They work with teachers to transform a schoolyard or garden into an outdoor classroom.
The ongoing program, funded聽this year by the Victoria Foundation, delivers curriculum-linked programs that engage students in hands-on learning through indoor and outdoor workshops.
鈥淎 big part of the program is a desire to connect children with where the food they eat comes from,鈥� said Matthew Kemshaw, executive director of the society. 鈥淲e also want to get the children out of classrooms and bring learning alive into school grounds, among native plants and cultivated food crops.鈥�
In each school, LifeCycles program managers function as school librarians, curating biodiverse outdoor learning gardens as spaces of inquiry and growth.
Teachers are empowered to host classroom groups, develop lesson planning, provide ongoing garden care and facilitate student leadership in each space.
How the children participate varies by age and school. In an elementary school, youngsters may get down to the dirt and help create a garden. At a secondary school, the emphasis may be to develop leadership among participants, encourage stewardship of the garden and the logistics of food cultivation and eventual consumption.
鈥淕ardens can also be places of refuge and emotional learning,鈥� said Kemshaw.
鈥淪ome educators have seen green spaces creating a sense of calm among students who would be otherwise unruly in the classroom. Others find being around nature help them focus.鈥�
Four schools in the capital region are taking part the program. The curriculum supports the learning outcomes of the Ministry of Education and addresses subjects such as science, social studies and mathematics.
For more information, go to lifecyclesproject.ca.
