Spreading Seeds and Gardening Knowledge In Our Community
Vision
After learning about the issue of food insecurity and identifying gardening as a solution to the problem, students at St. Paul wanted to provide locals with resources to grow their own food. They came up with the idea of creating Planter Packages and Garden Start-Up Buckets.
Action
Students budgeted the supplies for their Planter Packages and Garden Start-Up Buckets. They considered several different seed varieties, soil types, and gardening supplies before making decisions on what to purchase. They used Google Sheets to budget and keep a running track of the supplies they bought. Students reached out to community partners for support via email. Mike Halloran (a teacher at Holy Cross CSS) used a food cycler with his environmental science class to produce the compost for this project. The Norwood Asphodel Horticultural Association donated over 300 packets of seeds for students to fill their Planter Packages with.
Students assembled 130 Planter Packages (envelopes with three varieties of seed packets and growing instructions) and delivered them door to door on a walk through Norwood. The Garden Start-Up Buckets that each student got to take home included buckets, gardening tools, gardening gloves, soil, compost, watering cans, and vegetable seedlings.
Pupils grew tomato, soybean, and wheat seedlings in the classroom. Through this process, they learned about how to look after plants and encourage their growth.
Students practiced their research and writing skills by looking up seed-growing conditions and summarizing this information. They also created news articles that were shared around the school to advertise the project.
Reflection & Celebration
This project provided students with the opportunity to learn about and develop several green skills. The class was excited to grow their own seedlings and make daily observations about their plant’s growth. They enjoyed personalizing their Garden Start-Up Buckets and assembling the Planter Packages. Pupils were eager to share their experience of this project with family and friends.