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School gardens!

An outside classroom is just that - an area where teachers can take their classes and experience nature first-hand. It may be a specially built garden near the science laboratories, or it may be a piece of natural bush area in one part of the school which can be maintained or further developed.

What better place is there to become partners with nature and to learn about the water cycle, nutrient cycles, earthworms, food chains, soil and foods than a school garden? Teachers do not have to take classes long distances to observe nature. They can create gardens and bush or mini-forest areas right at the school.

Gardening allows teachers to instil a love for nature and for the land, and if students feel intimately involved with nature, their concern for environmental problems will be long-lasting... more about this article>

Assessing Outside Activities
Assessing students is easy, especially if schools have outcome-based education. Students can be assessed on group work, individual practical skills, writing and speaking skills, and their use of scientific method.
By way of example, Table 1 lists some suggestions for the different learning areas for using the outside classroom. Table 2 illustrates how the outside classroom can be used to effectively cover particular student outcome statements in Year 11 and 12 Senior Science. You will notice that there are many different activities your students can perform in the garden area and some of these can be assessed. Furthermore, one activity can be used to simultaneously evaluate several outcomes.

Table 1:
Some suggestions for activities in an outside classroom.

Table 2:
Assessing Garden Activities in the Outside Classroom.

Developing a thematic approach to learning also gives some direction for students. They start to see that a subject is not just a series of small units, but it can be integrated to cover many aspects of their lives and their surroundings. The challenge for teachers is to develop strategies to cover a particular course. Building an outside classroom takes time, school and department support, and money. Here are some guidelines to help you get started.

A Needs Analysis
This is the first step in developing an outside classroom. It is also the most important and should involve consultation with all the stakeholders for the area. In working with children and schools you need to determine: the needs and wants of the children, teachers and the school.

1. what the budget is (how much you can spend).
2. how much time and energy is available to implement, maintain and develop the garden area.
3. what resources are available - both on site and in the local community.
4. the potential site - its limitations, existing structures and positive qualities.

To determine the needs of a school, the budget and level of support in the community, you really need to discuss your ideas with a wide number of people, some of whom will include the teachers who want to use the area, school principal, other school staff, the gardener, and members of the school council and/or the parents and citizens (or parents and friends) association.

Guidelines for Designing School Grounds.
Involve children as much as you can. Teach them about design. Get them to measure the area and do scale drawings. Ask for their input and ideas. It may not be possible for the students to come up with a fully-functioning design, but unless they have some ownership, along with the teacher, of the plan, the future success of the garden area is not guaranteed. Children get excited and willing to work when they know that what they are doing is something they have contributed to. You may be surprised at the number of really good (and innovative) suggestions they make about the garden and site development. Lead them gently through the process.

Keeping this in mind, here are some useful guidelines when considering building gardens in schools:

1. Consider the ages of the children. Small areas are great for small children, not so good for teenagers. Garden beds may have to be smaller than usual so that children can access all areas easily.
   
2. Children like their own garden beds. Groups of two or three work well together and can easily build, plant and look after their beds. Individuals should be allowed to develop their own garden if they ask, but encourage group co-operation. Remember that we are trying to teach life skills and community values, as well as gardening.
3. Sometimes different classes want a part of the garden. It may be better to consider building small garden areas nearby each classroom, rather than one larger area away from the school. Smaller gardens, solely the responsibility of one class and one teacher, are more intimate for the children. Alternatively, allocate different areas in the larger garden for those classes and teachers that do want their own space.
4. Will other groups of people, besides those directly building and maintaining the garden, be using the area? How can you use other teachers and their classes in the garden? Can you ask the art department to get their students to design and make clay-fired bird-baths? Do they want to display some of their sculptures in the garden? Will manual arts help build the seats you want to put in the area? Do any science teachers want to set up and stock a pond? If you involve everyone, then everyone will own the garden.
5. Will the produce from the garden be sold, taken home or given away? Is the school canteen willing to buy foodstuffs from the students? What kinds of foods would the canteen want? Gardening gives a direct connection to our food source. Many students initially fail to see the connection of what they are growing to the food they eat at home.
6. Some garden beds could contain plants for propagation work. These stock garden beds may be small beds of particular herbs that are used for cuttings and grafting work. Beds could have different themes. For example, one bed for culinary herbs, another for medicinal herbs and another for pest repellent herbs. All students could then take small pieces of these plants from the stock beds for their own use.
7. Outside activities should be organised and related to the curriculum. Many educational objectives and outcomes can be covered by simple, fun-to-do activities in your new outside classroom.
8. Other types of activities lend themselves to schools. For example, nesting boxes for birds, possums and bats could be studied by science students. Place one or two bird baths and/or feeding trays in the garden - you'll be surprised what you will attract. Build a weather station that holds equipment which measures daily temperature and barometer changes, humidity, rainfall and wind direction and speed.
9. In some circumstances the school garden could become the community garden. Parents and community members could help students with garden development and/or be responsible for areas themselves. They may grow things to take home or for use by the school.
10. There is a general push by governments and education authorities to better use schools as this valuable resource is under-utilised at present. Community gardens are one way to ensure a win-win situation. It also helps alleviate some of the potential vandal problems which may occur.
11. The skills that children learn help build their self-esteem as they realise that they have the ability to grow things and that they have a role to play as part of a co-operative team - a role that they learn at school which they continue to develop throughout their life as part of the local community.

Design Considerations.
The number of activities, garden ideas and design strategies are endless. Teachers and students will be able to experiment and see what works best for them and their school environment and situation. However, here are a few ideas and practical considerations that have worked well in schools:

• Plan for open space. You have to get at least one class in the garden area at any one time. This could be up to thirty students - where are you going to put them all?
• Main pathways have to be wide. It is not practical to have the half-a-metre path that you have at home in the school garden area.
• Secret or quiet places are important. Children like to hide, especially from teachers, and secret garden areas provide sanctuary.
• Seating is essential. Simple log or bench seats are more than satisfactory, but rock or carved seats can really look great.
• Plan for some garden areas to be shaded. This could mean placing some of the seats under large trees or using structures like walkways, vines and pergolas.
• Developing your own shrub and tree nursery will help in reducing costs of obtaining plant stock for the garden. This can be as simple as a potting area, small shade-house (covered frame) or a series of benches in a hothouse for plant propagation.

Conclusion

Schools should be fun!

Developing an outside classroom, where students can both learn and enjoy, is a sensible way in which educators can effectively teach the "curriculum".

Some students only seem to learn by working outside in the garden or doing practical activities. Others thrive in the more academic sphere. All students, however, need stimulating lessons to hold their interest. What better way is there than to go outside and observe and learn from nature?