Does Gardening Education Have a Place in Our Schools?

I do quite a bit of reading about organic farming, the dangers of pesticides and genetically-modified (GMO) crops, holistic health and natural solutions to everyday problems, such as using vinegar to kill weeds or baking soda and lemon juice as a stain remover. As those of us active in the Green movement are all too aware, the various chemicals found in everything from car exhaust, common weed killers and plastic water bottles to packaged and prepared foods found in almost every supermarket are damaging our collective health and destroying our environment. Sadly, many children in the United States have no idea where their food actually comes from, or even what real food looks and tastes like. The fact that some school lunch programs are still categorizing pizza sauce and pickle chips as vegetables doesn’t exactly help the situation.

Many parents may recall their pre-schoolers or kindergarteners bringing home small dirt-filled flowerpots containing tiny plants that they had grown from the seeds they’d planted in class, watered each day and kept on a sunny classroom windowsill. Sadly, that basic science lesson is the only experience with gardening that many children will ever have. It seems clear to me that one crucial way to further environmental awareness in the general population is to make sure that our children learn where their food comes from, how it’s grown, and why eating foods free from chemicals and pesticides is essential to their future health and well-being. If we can show children this vital connection between ourselves and the earth, the future of the planet can’t help but benefit. To that end, organizations ranging from the National Gardening Association to the American Heart Association are advocating for more schools to implement gardening programs.
According to Judith Collier-Reid, a consultant for the AHA’s Teaching Gardens program that was established in 2013 with a mission of curtailing the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States, “If the children are involved in growing the vegetables, then they are interested in eating them.” Exactly.

While it’s difficult to ascertain the number of American schools that currently include gardening as part of the curriculum, many districts across the country are implementing programs; some citing inspiration from Michele Obama’s White House vegetable garden. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in North Carolina report that almost all of the district’s 18 schools offer gardening, and that some donate produce to needy people in the area. “It’s a good way to get (both) families and the community involved,” observes Todd LoFrese, assistant district superintendent. Also a good way to improve our national health, and something deserving of far more attention and funding than it currently receives.

By: Lee Ann Rush