School garden wins statewide award
Southside Elementary School received statewide recognition earlier this month for using the school’s garden as an outdoor classroom.
Governor Asa Hutchinson presented the school with an award from the Arkansas Agriculture Department and Farm Credit for being the Best Environmental Based Education School Garden of the Year on Dec 7. The award comes with a $500 prize from Farm Credit.
“School gardens are an interactive way to teach Arkansas students about growing healthy food and eating well,” said Hutchinson. “We are proud of educators instilling healthy habits through living classroom settings like school gardens, and proud of students involved in efforts that create healthier futures and communities.”
The state Agricultural Department and Farm Credit began the contest to promote the importance of involving young people in the process of fresh food cultivation and production, according to a press release from the department. The overall Best School Garden of the Year was Marshall Elementary in Searcy County, which received $1,500 from Farm Credit.
Dan Siemens, Southside Elementary School principal, said his school was completely surprised by the award. School staff members did not apply for the award and were unaware they had been nominated, he said.
“We were excited,” he said. “I know what kind of work the teachers have put in — the planning and preparation — and what the kids have put in.”
The school garden was established in the fall of 2014 thanks to a $1,000 grant from the Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention. Lowe’s, Anderson’s Lumber and the city government of Siloam Springs provided in-kind donations, seeds and materials to nearly double the value of the grant, according to teacher Mark Stewart, who spearheaded the project with fellow teachers Caleb Schultz and Julie McCratic.
The garden originally included eight above-ground beds that grew vegetables such as spinach,
lettuce, tomatoes, squash and zucchini, and flowers such as marigolds.
This year, Southside Elementary collaborated with the high school agricultural department to build a 16- by 20-foot greenhouse, which will extend the growing season. High school students in Gene Collins’ construction class began the project last spring, and a new class of construction students completed it this fall. High school students will be building tables for seedlings in the upcoming semester. Funds for the greenhouse were provided by the Box Tops for Education program, Siemens said.
At least 10 third- and fourth-grade classes have used the garden as an outdoor classroom to study subjects that range from science and math to language arts, Stewart said. He has used the garden to teach topics such as area and perimeter in math and life-cycles and inherited traits in science.
“The garden is essentially an outdoor classroom,” he said.
Andrew Goode, who teaches English as a second language, has also focused on using the garden as a classroom. He explained that it can be difficult for students learning English to do writing assignments, especially when they have a hard time relating to many topics. The garden gives them something to relate to and something to write about. It also helps them build their basic vocabulary for simple garden related terms such as hoe or weeds, he said.
Students in Schultz’s class have been using the garden to learn how to conduct research on topics such as what type of plant grows best at different times of year. In the spring semester, they will also be using it to study how to write thank-you notes in language arts class. The garden also helps students learn life lessons such as teamwork and brings the whole school together, he said.
The Arkansas Grown program promotes food and products grown in Arkansas by Arkansas producers, and helps make the connection between growers and buyers, the press release said.
“As a farmer-owned cooperative, we believe it’s important to support local food system initiatives such as the Arkansas Grown School Garden Program,” said Greg Cole, AgHeritage and Farm Credit Services President and CEO. “Local food projects like this are a great way to educate the next generation and the public about food production and agriculture.”
Other winners that received a $500 award were:
• Health/Wellness and Environmental Studies Magnet School in Jonesboro for the Best Nutrition Education Based School Garden.
• Prairie Grove Middle School in Washington County for the Best Community Collaboration School Garden award.