{"id":28895,"date":"2021-03-22T12:54:37","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T16:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=28895"},"modified":"2024-08-18T07:51:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-18T11:51:21","slug":"personalized-learning-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/personalized-learning-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Personalized learning in the spring garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

Signs of spring surround us: snow is melting, the days are lengthening, and the mud has returned. So it must be time to think about school gardens!\u00a0 School gardens have become increasingly popular over the past few years, and for good reasons. They’re highly engaging, and ripe with educational opportunities, ha ha. But did you know you can also plant a personalized learning garden?<\/span><\/p>\n

Why school gardens?<\/h5>\n

School gardens present fantastic learning opportunities. They\u2019re part of a larger <\/span>Farm to School movement <\/span><\/a>that\u2019s seeking to improve the health of students, food systems, communities, and local economies in one comprehensive strategy. <\/span>And we know it\u2019s working<\/span><\/a>!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We know hands-on experiential learning is great for students. School gardens offer opportunities for students to dig into science, math, social studies, and language arts, but they also provide a ton of great opportunities to develop a wide array of other skills we\u2019re seeking to cultivate: problem-solving, perseverance, goal setting, planning, reflection…you get the idea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why now?<\/h5>\n

And right now, they are especially well suited to our current situation. <\/span><\/p>\n

With food insecurity increasing across the country, growing food with students will not only provide food for your community but will also provide students with an invaluable life skill. One they can depend on in the future. And while we might be nearing the end of the pandemic, we\u2019re not quite there yet. <\/span>As we discovered in the fall, moving learning outside is a brilliant idea<\/span><\/a>\u2014 and something we hope you keep doing even when we\u2019re all more comfortable in close quarters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students across the InnovativeEduverse are digging in. They’re connecting learning to the food system.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Cornwall VT, students undertook a Farm to School journey<\/a> explicitly to understand more about how and where their food came from.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the help of their community, middle schoolers at Essex Middle School built their own sugaring operation<\/a> on school grounds. They negotiated the planning permits, the construction, and keep it running to this day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, students in <\/span>Dorset built a chicken coop<\/span><\/a> so they could provide fresh eggs to the school cafeteria. And finally, students at the Burke Town School, in West Burke VT, <\/span>undertook projects tied to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.<\/span><\/a> Result!<\/p>\n

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