School gardens are being implemented in elementary, middle, and some high schools around the country to provide a valuable hands-on learning experience for students. The increasing number of food-related problems in today's society, such as obesity, eating disorders, diseases, and a general disconnect from food sources, have contributed to these schools' desire to develop awareness and understanding in coming generations. The schools have been using gardens to bring children closer to the food they eat, by teaching planting, nourishing, harvesting and cooking the food they grow. The gardens also provide an education process by which teachers can teach many other subjects. Overall, research has shown that children whose schools use gardening as part of their curriculum have a better understanding of agricultural and natural ecosystems, a more educated and positive attitude towards the environment, and a more enhanced learning experience in core subjects such as reading, math, and science. At many studied schools, however, it was reported that gardening did not have an effect on the eating habits of children. Although school gardens have been highly successful in schools that use them, there are still challenges these schools must overcome for their gardens to be fully effectual.
One important result of school gardens is students' heightened consciousness of the agricultural and natural processes by which food comes to be available in this country and in the world. The distinction between agricultural processes and natural ones is that humans control agricultural growing while we do not control natural growth. Both types are important for children to be aware of. Children need to understand natural growing processes so th...
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...t, funding, and goals, school gardens can be poorly maintained or forgotten. Also, they may not be serving as educational tools unless teachers and administrators provide adequate instruction corresponding to the experiential learning. Without a form of guidance through their gardening observations, students may gain a sense of connection to the environment but they most likely will not develop a deep understanding of natural processes, healthy eating habits, and sustainable community agriculture. From the research, it seems a combination of both direct student experience and teacher instruction is necessary to achieve personal results as well as educational results in students. Neither can be fully effective without the other, but a balance of the two could change students' outlook on food, nutrition, and academics towards a more interconnected view of the world.
In the largely manufactured city of South Central LA, as illustrated by Ron Finley in the video ‘Guerilla Gardener’, people are suffering. Obesity rates are skyrocketing, people are dying from diseases that could be easily treated, all because of produce that is not only expensive, but also unfresh and overwhelmed with pesticides and insecticides. Ron Finley sees this happening in his community and is determined to do something. He explains in his video how gardening is not only a solution to the ongoing food crisis, but is also therapeutic, revolutionary, and life-changing.
Gradually, a garden can be a comfort place for a person. It can even bring a community together. Maybe it can also symbolize the meaning to a belief. A garden can benefit the gardener who is growing it or a community that is building one for a good cause. In “Sowing Change” by Donna Freedman, gardens means a lot to the community of North Lawndale, in Chicago. In “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier, a garden full of a few Marigolds means the world to someone.
It is true that growing foods on a farm show that there 's no bad “chemicals” added in the food which starts all out as seeds. If only it weren’t for the fact that again, college students just don’t have time. Along with that, some students live alone in an apartment complex and, I’m sure not too many apartments have an outside area big enough for a private garden. As a college student myself, I find it easier just going to the grocery stores and farmer’s markets to get my food; then again, I still live with my parents and they pay for the groceries. Thankfully, I don’t have to travel to the real farms to get farm-fresh produce; the food comes to local places like the hospital and downtown on certain dates. I suppose a tip for college students; in reality, traveling to the grocery store is easier because it’s a once-per-week-deal while keeping watch over a garden is an every-day-deal and students have things to keep up
Flanagan starts by describing how important it is for students to learn as much as they can in a classroom because gardening is actually "robbing an increasing number of American schoolchildren of hours they might
The victory garden or home garden was something that was highly popular during World War I and II. People would grow their own produce to help with the local food supply and to ease pressure on the local economy. At that time, almost one third of vegetable that were produced in the United States came from people’s home gardening (Wikipedia.org). Since then, there has been a massive decrease in the home garden. Store bought produce had become common place and as a result people have stopped growing their own food. However, by encouraging home gardening, communities can have sustainable, more nutritious produce readily available.
Even just the pick of a tomato can start a ripple effect. The simple pick of a bright red tomato can inspire others to do the same and choose healthy, organic, colorful foods over processed, genetically modified food. Having a garden will do more than just inspire, it will provide. It will provide for the growing children in schools eager to learn. A garden will help a student’s brain function increase. A study shows that students who ate healthy scored higher on English and and science tests than students who did not eat healthy https://www.wilder.org/Wilder-Research/Publications/Studies/Fueling%20Academic%20Performance%20-%20Strategies%20to%20Foster%20Healthy%20Eating%20Among%20Students/Nutrition%20and%20Students'%20Academic%20Performance.pdf Because of this study and the effects of processed food on the body, schools should begin to add a greenhouse and/or outside garden to their campus. The schools should also make gardening a mandatory class every year. This program will need to be approved by central offices, but with a community supporting the idea the program is sure to thrive. A petition should also be made so that the central office knows exactly what an improvement these gardens will provide. With this garden program students will provided with the necessary nutrients needed for the human body to sustain a healthy life. Schools will begin to turn away from processed, genetically modified food, which causes severe
The documentary film “The Garden,” by Scott Hamilton Kennedy captivates and captures the South Central Los Angeles farmers struggles and conflicts they faced trying to save the South Central Farm. The 14 acre garden grows fresh vegetables and fruits, such as: corn, beans, papayas, and etc. It was one of the largest community garden and became known as the urban garden. Doris Bloch, the founder of the community garden, said in the documentary that the land could be use to build a garden for the community residents to grow their own food. Bloch said “ very low income family that deserves to grow their own food… land, people, food, it's a pretty simple idea. happy days.” The farmers took an advantage to use that land to grow their own vegetables
Gardening is Finley's graffiti and art. He believes that the gardens are meant to be shared with all and used as a tool to educate and transform his community. The gardens help change and develop the lives and future of children and young people. He believes to make change, you have to focus on the community and change the composition of the soil. The people are the soil. Finley’s plans for the garden include getting people to grow their own food, open farmer's markets, and make healthy cafes out of shipping
I later understood that gardening is generally associated with a life of leisure, with relaxation. For me, it was a competition. I'd ask my seedlings, 'Who's growing the fastest?' 'Who's the tallest?' Fearing bad karma, I tried to stay impartial, lest a subconscious preference for green beans would cause me to water them more often, while dumping bleach on the onions. Every night I'd give my parents an update on rates of growth, any signs of produce, and my never-realized irrigation plans.
In May of 2010 a group of students dressed in blue corduroy jackets came to Athens Christian School to visit during a chapel service. Georgia FFA state officers, Cain and Filipe, spoke about the endless possibilities one could enjoy while in an organization called FFA. These state officers spoke with confidence and excitement as they talked about agriculture playing a vital role in the lives of students. One major concept they spoke about was how in order to be in FFA one has to be enrolled in an agriculture education course. The following year Athens Christian School had a new agriculture education program with Mrs. Sara Hughes teaching the middle school and high school classes. She is still a current asset in this program, and her hard work is very evident. Mrs. Hughes will be quick to tell anyone that although a career in agriculture education is challenging the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
Gardeners often find deep satisfaction in their gardens because they are rewarded by their patience and
Agriculture is one of the most ancient forms of art and science that ties human development and well-being to natural resources and ecosystems. (Fritz J. Häni, 2007) Sustainable Agriculture is the production of food, fibre, plant and animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities and animal welfare. (Sustainable Agriculture - The Basics, 2015) Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site – specific application that over the long term will:
By the time spring came, my father was regaining his strength. My father and I tilled and prepared the soil, then began planting the seeds. Though I wanted them to sprout immediately, they had their own timetable. When they finally did, I was so excited to see them pushing their way up through the dirt and climbing towards the sun. We cared for the seedlings, giving them manure, aerating the soil, watering them daily, doing everything we could so they would keep growing. But my father would point out that the first rule of gardening is that we are not in control. We can only wait and watch and enjoy each moment. As the plants grew stronger, I felt myself growing stronger as well. Slowly, I was learning to wait and coming to understand that the growth process, like life itself, has a force and rhythm of its own, and that I could rely on it.
Home gardens offer a wide variety of benefits to the environment and serve a diverse group of people. Home gardening provides a source of fresh produce and free of chemicals, it also gives you complete control over the chemicals and products used during the growing process. A home garden allows you to pick the produce when its ripe, unlike produce at the store is often picked before its fully ripe. The quality and flavor of the freshly picked produce from home is better than the produce that might have unknown chemicals and was likely picked several days or weeks before being sold. The produce retains more nutrients when consumed shortly after being picked, making your home garden vegetables a healthier option. A garden also provides a positive environmental impact. The compost allows you to recycle certain kitchen and yard waste into a nutrient-rich additive for the garden. This provides natural fertilizer for you plants and reduces the wastes you produce. If you choose to avoid or limit chemical use, you reduce pollution from your gardening activities. Besides being good for the environment gardens have environmental gains for us. Gardening help control urban temperatures, If the environmental landscape design is effective it can cool your home in summer and warm it in winter, it can also reduce the energy cost by up to 20%. Gardening, and all the physical activity that goes along with it, leads to a better overall physical health, weight loss, improve you bones, and reduces the risk of having osteoporosis. “In a study of 3,310 older women, researchers from the University of Arkansas found that women involved in yard work and other types of gardening exercises had lower rates of osteoporosis than joggers, swimmers, and women wh...
his semester intrigued my curiosity about plants , and how are they seen in this modern society. Nowadays plants are not seeing as a priority like back in the days. Before the industrialization the agricultures was one of the primary money maker. Nowadays what has being making money and being important to society has being the different innovations in technology. Plants have being gradually forgotten in the past couple of centuries (industrialization 1800s) . As a biology major, this semester I had the experience to study the plant tissues, organ system, and how they affect the environment. While I was learning about plants I was able to realized that prior this class my knowledge about the effect of plants in the world was minimum. This