Objective 2: Student-driven Best Management Practices
5) Structures for Environmental Learning
Swan Meadow School Onion Garden
In the fall of 2012, Swan Meadow students began a yearlong school garden project by visiting the local Farmer's Market and interviewing vendors about the various produce that they grew and sold. Interviews included information about planting, tending, and harvesting various crops, as well as how well various items sold at the market.
After interviews with numerous experts and researching growing conditions, care requirements, planting/harvesting calendars for a variety of produce, students chose to grow an onion garden. Middle school students designed and conducted an experiment to compare the success of several different planting methods. The photos below show students listening to experts, planting onion seeds, preparing seed tapes, plowing and preparing the garden, and planting their onion garden in the Spring of 2013. A student team has researched best choices for the 2014 garden and presented their decision-making matrix in an assembly so all students can vote for the four vegetables we will grow this year.
Middle School Birdhouse Gourds
Students in Mrs. Gilbert's 6th-8th grade classroom have been involved in every stage of preparing their birdhouse gourds for sale at our annual Harvest Sale. Students built the trellis that stands in the schoolyard as part of a Woodworking project supervised by Swan Meadow fathers. They also planted and tended to the gourds. After the gourds dried, they sanded them to prepare them for painting, which was done in Art class. The birdhouse gourds were then auctioned off at our annual Harvest Sale to help provide funds for our school. The pictures below show various stages of the project during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years.