2009 California School Garden of the Year

Louisiana Schnell School

Garden of Learning
Placerville, California

In Their Own Words

Application Essay

Garden of Learning is an innovative program that has captured the imaginations of students, their teachers and volunteers. All of the elementary school’s 420 children go in small groups to the garden every week of the school year. There in the garden, students participate in Weekly lesson Plans. Students use organic gardening techniques to raise vegetables, flowers and herbs. They tend the garden, tilling and weeding it. Ultimately, they eat part of what they produce, and they raise money to help sustain the program by selling what they produce at their own Farmer’s Market every year. In short, the garden program provides a tremendous spectrum of experience-based learning.

Our composting and worm-raising activities are part of that spectrum. Students build compost piles, observing and comparing the rate of decomposition for various materials. This activity teaches them to observe as scientists, while learning about the problems our society faces with waste management. At the beginning of the school year our students rebuild the contents of their huge “Worm Motel.” Then for the remainder of the school year they recycle lunch and garden scraps by feeding the worms. In the middle of winter, students “Check Out” worms from the Worm Motel; they love to study the worms, learning about their physical anatomy and about their role in enriching the soil.

Teachers integrate the weekly garden lessons with classroom studies. The garden is used to enhance skills in reading, writing, math, nutrition, agriculture, social studies, science and fine arts. Here are three examples:

•In autumn you might find students participating in a lesson we call “I Never Metamorphosis I Didn’t Like.” There is no better way for a biology lesson to come to life than by studying a Monarch’s anatomy and metamorphosis while watching one emerge from its chrysalis.

•In the winter a lesson called “Incredible Edibles.” This nutrition lesson teaches students which parts of the plants they eat. Our local hospital donates enough produce so that all classes at Schnell School have a fruit or vegetable that represents each part of the plant. After their lessons, students eat the lesson materials! It’s a healthy snack and if it comes through the Garden of Learning, they always eat heartily!

•In the spring a lesson called “Herb Superb.” Students visit their herb garden, acting out roles to learn how early colonists. Native Americans, and pioneers used herbs for medicinal purposes.

Whether we are studying science, language or math in the garden, nutrition themes are always woven into our program. They begin the school year by harvesting the autumn crop (planted earlier, in spring), then planting their winter crop. They nurture the garden throughout the school year. Students gain a keen appreciation for where food comes from, that they need proper nutrition and care themselves, just as their plants do. They also learn that they actually do like fruits and vegetables The activity plans are designed not only to give practical application to what they learn in the classroom but also to teach our students that they have a responsibility to our environment. They work as biologist and entomologist using the scientific method to determine if our garden is healthy, if we have enough beneficial insects to control harmful insects. This year they’ll study the dragonfly as indicators of the health of our environment, creating circle graph while brainstorming on the problems our society faces with our environment and how they can help. And the program has spearheaded several special events.

Ten years ago, a prominent local artist donated her time to work with students to paint murals of insects on the classroom doors. One year our students experienced a dazzling biology lesson when they simultaneously released 600 Monarch butterflies that had been tagged by researchers studying Monarch migratory habits. This year our students, staff, parents and the Broadway Village Association are very exited about transforming these two vacant lots at the intersection of Schnell School Road and Broadway into gardens. They pass these lots that are overgrown with weeds and collect garbage, every day to and from school. Our garden and a project like this benefit both our students and the community in many ways; our young students build self-confidence and self-esteem, they learn the value of effort, discipline and teamwork, they’ll learn that private people must form a community to care for public resources. It unifies the children and adults in our community around a common sense of achievement. The effects of this may seem subtle, but they are profound.

Our program is designed to be sustained year after year. Garden Parents receive ongoing instruction and training. They work closely with both the Garden Coordinator, and the teachers to whom Garden Parents are assigned. Garden Parents continue their involvement from year to year. Every year, Garden Parents who once assumed they had brown thumbs leave the program with a new passion for gardening and awareness of its connection to the environment and nutrition. A commitment has continued over the years by the school’s administration, staff, Site Council and Parent Club to focus on upgrading, maintaining or expanding our program.

The garden is centrally located on campus, making it convenient to use. The beauty of the garden, with its flowerbeds and vine-covered trellises, enhances the school’s appearance, promoting school and community pride. The program is the subject of monthly reports to the School Board, School Site Council, Parent Club, teachers and parents. And has been the catalyst for numerous business contacts in the community. Our school’s lunch staff collaborates by monitoring and supervising children as they gather and separate that which can be composted from that which cannot. Our Garden of Learning has succeeded in the rugged climate of the Sierra Nevada foothills. We worked hard to develop garden -related academic activities that could be done indoors when storms blow into our mountains. And when a late snow falls only weeks before our Farmer’s Market, everyone at Schnell School pitches in to protect the garden.

Garden of Learning has received financial support from both School Site Council and Parent Club, community service clubs, local farm associations our local newspaper and businesses. Garden expenses are managed through partnerships with local nurseries and hardware stores, which supply materials and tools. Garden fundraisers generate both financial help and community excitement. At the annual Farmer’s Market, children at lavishly decorate booths, sell organic produce and flowers, potted plants, worms and worm castings. We have a garden gift booth. We sell bread baked in flowerpots, herbed butter in containers, and chocolate-dipped strawberries. Our last market raised $3,500, while letting parents see first-hand that the lessons of the garden are multifaceted. The money is tilled directly back into the garden.

The University of California at Davis, U C. Cooperative Extension, 4-H Development Program, National Gardening Association, Ag in the Classroom, Farm Bureau, Farm Trails and our local agricultural department, has recognized our program. Schools across the nation and across the ocean have purchased the copyrighted Garden of Learning materials developed by our Garden Coordinator. Another measure of the program’s success is gleaned from annual surveys of staff, parents and students. Garden of Learning is one of the school’s most popular endeavors. Teachers strongly back the program as having made their lesson plans successful.

Garden of Learning is in its eighteenth year. We know no finer measure of success than its continued support year after year other then the way our students’ eyes truly sparkle at garden time. Louisiana Schnell School is similar to many schools in the Sierra Foothills. It struggles with limited budgets, a diverse student population, and a small pool of resources to support the curriculum. Eighteen years ago, however, things began to change at Schnell School. A small group of dedicated teachers and parents committed themselves to enriching the curriculum and the school community. The path they chose was a garden. Little did they know that this path would transform the school community (students, parents, teachers, administration) as well as the school’s relationship with the larger community!

Our garden program benefits the students who participate in a lot of ways: It fosters a sense of ownership and pride in their school. It provides a focus for learning that engages all of a child’s learning styles. It helps develop a true cooperative spirit as children work together toward a common goal. It provides a respite from the hubbub of busy school life by allowing children to focus on a task in a smaller, quieter setting. And for certain children, it provide a muchneeded understanding of what nurturing means; for some it seems that in the process of protecting and nurturing plants, they are themselves nurtured.  Our Garden of Learning brings education to life in vivid color.

 Acceptance Speech at the Agriculture in the Classroom Conference 

by Kelli Wessman

 I’m so honored and humbled to receive this award.

For eighteen years I have had the good fortune, to work collaboratively with students, parents, teachers, administrators, businesses and members of my community and any colleague who shares the same passion.

It hasn’t always been easy, it isn’t as easy as planting petunias but it has always been inspiring.

We all want our children to be curious, enthusiastic life-long learners. A garden engages all of their senses  in learning. It sparks a child’s imagination by making academic topics leap to life.

Whether we are studying science, language Arts or math in the garden, nutrition and environmental studies are always present. We teach our children to observe as scientists, while learning about humanity’s relationship to the earth. We teach them the value of effort, discipline and team work, that they have the power to create something big and wonderful and that private people must form a community to care for  public resources.

The garden provides a subtle and profound understanding about nature and our place in the world.

Garden-based learning brings education to life — in vivid color. 

And so while it’s not as easy as planting petunias it is so worth doing.

I sincerely thank you for the recognition of our Garden of Learning.