As a grandmother of three darling children, I worry about so much: Are they happy? Are they healthy? Are they eating good food? Are they getting enough exercise? Are they learning enough math, science, reading, writing, art? Do they think I am the best nana in the whole world?
Fortunately, their schools have one place that alleviates my worries (except maybe that best- nana one), and that is the school garden.
This is not just wishful thinking on my part. A growing body of research supports the idea that school gardens can help meet many educational and nutritional goals for our children. The University of California at Davis actually has a school garden program to educate students and teachers about developing, using and sustaining school gardens to educate children.
Their suggested lesson plans show how to teach reading (using seed packets and plant descriptions), math (measuring planting depth, rainfall or temperature) and science (exploring how things grow and soil composition). Gardens can also be used to teach history, literature, art and culture.
Imagine a sixth-grade teacher introducing a section on Native American or Latino culture. Students could plant a historic herb garden or a “three sisters” garden (corn, beans and pumpkins).They could research the history of these cultures in our country and write or create art about what they have learned. Then they could cook what they have grown and perhaps learn to eat something that they have never tried. All these activities start in the school garden, where they are also getting exercise away from electronic screens, learning healthier eating habits and learning to work as a team.
A first-grade teacher might read The Sunflower House by Eve Bunting to his students. The children could then collect seeds from a dried sunflower head, create planting pots from newspaper and care for seedlings until they were big enough to plant in a “sunflower house” in the garden.
They could simultaneously work on writing and drawing skills by producing illustrated stories about the sunflowers. And they could boost their observational skills by noticing how their sunflower house grows, how pollinators seek out the blooming sunflowers and how birds come and eat the ripe seeds.
These garden activities are the ones students will remember long after they have forgotten many other lessons. I hope I have convinced you that a school garden makes an effective outdoor classroom for your children's or grandchildren's school.
The sad truth is, many school gardens fail or are not fully utilized. They lack funding, ongoing support from the school community and training for teachers on how to use the garden. Napa Valley Unified School District policy states clear support for school gardens as a way to improve student wellness and nutrition. But there is no money in the district's admittedly limited budget to support school gardens.
All too often, one teacher or parent enthusiastically takes on the garden, only to move on to another school without integrating the garden into the curriculum sufficiently that it survives and thrives without them. Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard project is one exception, but teachers are rarely taught how to use the garden nor given suggestions for garden lesson plans.
These challenges are surmountable but require effort from the community.
You can help make school gardens a reality for more students. You can volunteer to start and maintain a school garden or donate materials, tools and time to an existing garden. Or you can assist the new grassroots group of garden teachers and coordinators formed to support school gardens in Napa.
Reach out to your local schools or the school board to offer assistance. Connect with the new grassroots group by contacting the U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County's School Garden Task Force at 707-253-4221. Leave a message about your interest and a task force member will get back to you.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Do you know a U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County? You may and not even realize it. We are short, tall, thin and not so thin. We are older, younger, retired and still working. We live in Calistoga, Pope Valley and American Canyon and all points in between. The one thing we have in common is a passion for gardening.
The Master Gardener program began in 1972 in Washington State. Now almost every state has a Master Gardener program. Its purpose is to assist the county farm advisor in answering local home gardeners' questions. The Napa County Master Gardener program graduated its first class in 1995.
Prospective Master Gardeners are interviewed to make sure that they are willing and able to complete the volunteer commitment. Those accepted attend a 10-week training program of weekly classes.
Master Gardeners are not trained to know everything about gardening, but we know where to find information and resources. We guide the public in becoming better gardeners. To that end, we rely on a mountain of research-based information from the University of California. We dispense only research-based information, not the folk wisdom learned at a grandparent's knees.
There are many ways that Master Gardeners can earn their minimum number of volunteer and continuing-education hours. One of the main ways we educate the public is via office hours. This help desk is one of my favorite places to work. We have a small office in the U.C. Cooperative Extension office in Napa with a computer and many reference books. Master Gardeners hold office hours here and answer garden questions from Napa County home gardeners.
I once fielded a question about how to grow wasabi (horseradish). I searched everywhere for information and finally found on a university website. Master Gardeners sometimes have to be detectives.
We also conduct public workshops throughout the year on seasonal topics. We staff garden- information tables at farmers' markets, garden centers, health fairs and county and city events such as Earth Day. We partner with local waste-management agencies to host backyard-composting classes on both hot composting and vermicomposting (composting with worms). We maintain demonstration gardens to illustrate useful techniques and plantings. We recently completed a drought-tolerant planting in Calistoga and a pollinator- attracting garden at the St. Helena Library.
Our School Garden Task Force helps parents and teachers manage local school gardens. Master Gardeners contribute weekly newspaper articles and operate a speakers' bureau. If you belong to a group that needs a guest speaker on a garden topic, check our website (address below) for the speakers' bureau request form.
Master Gardeners of Napa County will also host two major events this spring. The annual Tomato Sale and Education Day on Saturday, April 8, and the “Discover Garden Magic” garden tour on Sunday, May 21. At the tomato sale, you can purchase a wide variety of tomato seedlings and learn how to take care of them. The garden tour showcases six splendid gardens owned and maintained by Master Gardeners. These gardens will inspire you and provide ideas for your own home garden. Proceeds from these events support our educational efforts in Napa County.
Visit our website (http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa) to find useful information on gardening, submit a garden question to our help desk, request a speaker or learn about upcoming events. A new group of Master Gardener trainees will graduate at the end of March, joining experienced volunteers working in the community on our many educational projects.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
