School Gardens as Community Projects and Learning Opportunities

Have you ever started a garden? This garden is both a learning opportunity for an elementary school and a community project. Children learn about decay as well as growth as they study how worms enrich the soil, how plants decompose, and how the earth is built up to enrich the garden. Theme gardens are also a possibility, with one class planting a Japanese garden, complete with the Japanese use of gardens for contemplation. Children also use the garden as inspiration for the art they do, which is then displayed in the garden.

What learning opportunities do you see for a garden as a project-based learning opportunity? How would you integrate it into the curriculum?