As I was trying to find recipes for all of the tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant from my friend's garden, I was reminded of an idea that had been brewing in my mind for awhile. I have always wanted to plant a fruit and vegetable garden at our school. As always with my crazy ideas, I have no idea if it would work, who would fund it, and whether or not I should just come back to reality and forget about it. One of my favorite memories of my grandfather was helping him to garden when I was a child. He lived on the outskirts of Baltimore City with a tiny backyard but there in that limited space was a wonderful garden. We would pick the ripe fruits and vegetables and then find recipes to create using these resources. I can't help but wonder if the students are missing out on memories like this one. Our school has a fruit and vegetable program, but how neat would it be to have students grow their own? As the wheels have turned, I also started brainstorming a teaching packet that would track the progress of this garden. I could see tracking growth through measurement, making graphs to compare the progress of the plants, counting seeds and estimating them, sorting, and the list goes on! I may begin to work on this throughout the week. What do you think? Is this a project that would work or might I be taking on too much? Any thoughts on who could help? Has anyone ever done something like this before? Thanks so much for your input!
Check out this link for an interesting story connected to gardens at schools...
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/all-we-can-eat/food-politics/moco-schools-say-food-gardens.html
