Georgia Ag Awareness Week is March 19th through March 23rd. Monday, the 19th, is Hands-on School Gardening Day, a day to showcase Georgia school gardens. How will you celebrate? Use social media, the local paper, or even email proclamations to let your administration and community know about your school garden. Plan a special garden workday. Or, give tours of the garden. Definitely plan something special.
I first worked with a school garden in the mid-1990s. At that time the garden was a beautiful space that the teachers used for outdoor reading time or inspiration for writing assignments. The garden itself wasn’t used for instruction. Times have changed. School gardens are now used to teach geography, math, history, literature and science.
Food plots are used to teach basic agriculture and nutrition through harvest taste tests. Younger students explore sensory gardens. Older students use produce from their school gardens to learn marketing and business skills as they model farmers market sales. These garden spaces have become a major part of our school curriculum.
Research papers prove the benefits of learning in an outdoor environment. Georgia’s Department of Education recognizes this with the agriculture focus for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) certification. The verdict is in – school gardens are good for our students.
On March 19th as you celebrate Hands-on School Garden day, take a moment to recognize the hard work that you put into the program. Share your photos with us on our UGA Community and School Garden Facebook page. We want to celebrate with you!
Happy Ag Week 2018!
Becky is a Georgia Certified Beekeeper and works with community and school gardeners to increase beneficial insect habitat.She is the coordinator of the Great Georgia Pollinator Census, happening this year on August 19th and 20th, 2022.She is also part of UGA's Native Plants and Beneficial Insect Working Group.
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What a great way to marry agriculture and education!