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Source
TIE (Tanzania Institute of Education)
The Importance of Gardens in a School
School
gardens can make lasting differences in the lives of children. The lessons
taught through these outdoor learning laboratories transcend gardening to
impact children, their families and entire communities for years to come. Here
are some of the many ways school gardens make a difference:
1. Encourages Physical Activities
Gardening
requires various levels of physical strength and mobility. It’s perfect to keep
students active, have them feel the ground on their feet and the dirt in their
hands. Beyond sports and usual exercises, having a school garden is yet another
natural and engaging way to improve children’s health.
2. Puts Forward Biodiversity and Conservatism
It’s
easy to forget our species can’t exist without respecting the needs of Mother
Earth. School gardens contribute significantly to helping children understand
how critical our natural world is. Considering the alarming rates of
deforestation, pollution and even toxic gardening, having a plant nursery on
school grounds provide awareness. Moreover, it helps develop an eco-friendlier
way of thinking; that they grow up to be more responsible and mindful adults.
3. Academic Achievement
Traditional
classroom activities often involve passive learning as children read aloud and
listen to their teachers. But activities in an outdoor garden classroom bring
abstract concepts to life through active, hands-on learning. School garden
programs use typical gardening tasks, such as planning, planting, caring and
harvesting, to illustrate cultivation. Plants, insects, birds and weather all
become participants in the learning process. As a result, children are more
engaged, more attentive and more motivated to learn.
While school gardens encourage creativity, stricter disciplines benefit, too.
Research shows that students who participate in garden-based science
curriculum, in addition to traditional classroom learning, score significantly
higher on science achievement tests than students in a traditional
classroom-based control group. This garden-enhanced achievement benefits both
boy and girls equally.
4. Teaches Communication and Teamwork
Gardening
with students can help them sharpen their communication skills. Once they start
learning what plants they’re looking at and how to care for them, they have
better chances of expressing themselves.
Teamwork is also another lesson they can learn throughout their time in the
school garden. Engaging them with various gardening activities in groups will
hone
5. Relieves Stress
Stress
comes in all forms. In schools, it’s often peer pressure that troubles
students, which makes it even more important to have the right outlets to cope.
Gardening is scientifically proven to calm the nerves and ease the mind.
6. Environmental Stewardship
Many
children raised outside rural settings have never seen seeds sprout or
vegetables develop. For some, eating
or even seeing fresh produce is rare. Through school’s gardens, children
experience the rewards of fresh produce and the process that brings them to
pass. They learn to understand the natural growth of plants from seeds to
sprouts to flowers to fruits and the impact that rain, drought and other forces
of nature have on plant life. Children learn first-hand the connection between
nature, their own food supply, and the pollinators and other creatures their
school garden ecosystem attracts and supports.
This newfound connectedness to nature fosters respect and concern for the
environment as a whole. Students who participate in hands-on garden classroom
programs develop greater concern and awareness of resource conservation and
allocation than students who do not. Student garden participants also express
more positive outlooks on nature, gardening and environmental issues. The
strongest responses result from involvement with active gardening.