Early Spring Garden Programming is Back!

Spring is here and we could not be more excited to begin our garden programming and begin seeing our elementary students again! After 2 weeks of onboarding our new Garden Program Specialists, as well as returning staff, are once again on school campuses teaching youth across the city. During the first two weeks of programming 2,578 students have received our early spring garden lessons. We have students learning about frost tolerant crop while planting spinach as well as learning about the health benefits spinach provides to our growing bodies.

Mafe & students trying spinach

Student holding felt body

Garden Expectations under the blooming trees

Students using their plant pots to cheers each other

Student using magnifying glass to explore spinach

Students showing off their newly planted seeds.

Our students are learning things such as: Spinach is made up of over 90% water, making it great for hydration. Spinach is also a great source of fiber, which helps with our digestion. While learning these, and other facts about spinach students are asked to point to the organ that particular fact supported. For instance "Spinach has a lot of fiber. Who knows how fiber supports our bodies? You're right! Fiber helps us with digestion. Can everyone point to their stomach?" Then one student is asked to stick a stomach cutout onto the felt body outline so students have a visual reminder as they move throughout the activity. These activities are easily scaled up, with more in-depth facts, for older or more advanced students and scaled down for younger students.

Students inevitably have funny, and inquizitive comments that stick with staff and I have added just a few of those quotes below:

• "Without plants the world would be pretty bad"

• "Yo tengo una plantita en mi casa, ahora va a tener una amiga", asked kid "que hace el corazon pa nosotros?" responded "nos hace humanos!"

• One kiddo when giving their planted spinach seeds an affirmation said "be the GOAT like Lebron"

• A few classes were more than prepared to see us in the garden! A first grade class had been working in the garden with their teacher and they were all able to identify the sprouting snap peas. Another class brought out potato slips which they were excited to plant in their school garden, with us.