Comments on: White House Garden Brought Attention. Now, Teacher Says School Gardens Need Support

By: Sarah Bernardi

Sarah Bernardi — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:13:32 +0000

Nina,

I understand the issues your school is facing. Vandalism is a real problem for school gardens. However, a garden that brings together the community in its design , creation and maintenance is usually a garden safe from vandals. If every student in the school feels a sense of ownership of the garden it will be protected. If the community comes to understand the value of the garden and becomes united through the garden, this also serves to prevent vandalism. Start small but make a big production out of it…maybe even try to get the would-be vandals involved…

By: Nina

Nina — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:00:25 +0000

A local school (southeastern Mass.) asked a science teacher to look into having a school garden. The problem – it couldn’t be in front of the school since it might be too visible and the target of vandalism. Vandalism is the same reason it couldn’t be in back of the school and because there are woods in the back of the school that might encourage students to wander. In the back of the school the public wouldn’t even know there was a garden. And since the doors to the school have to be locked at all times, there was the problem to taking classes out to the garden and getting back into the school (teachers do not have keys). There is a center courtyard to the school but it is small and gets little direct sunlight. The list went on and on. Meanwhile there is talk of raising school lunch prices next year so students can eat processed foods.

By: melanie

melanie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:43:28 +0000

Well written and hear, hear. My daughter is at Tyler Elementary school in SE and we just got our outdoor classroom put in the playground this fall. But parents have to sign up just to make sure it gets watered. I’m okay with that, but I never thought about a full-time school garden staff member. I love it. I love that you view salad as art. Thank you for all the work you do. Will pass your ideas along…

By: Teachers and School Gardens Need Full-Time Staff Support | Garden-Based Learning Blog

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:58:10 +0000

[...] White House Garden Brought Attention. Now, Teacher Says School Gardens Need Support [...]

By: Dawn.

Dawn. — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:04:02 +0000

School gardens illuminate the connections between food, nutrition and our physical and mental well-being. They can change the lives of impressionable children. A resource this valuable should not have to depend on unpaid volunteers or teachers who fear for their jobs.

I absolutely agree, Ms. Bernardi. Wouldn’t it be amazing if every public school in the U.S. had a sustainable edible garden? Not only do school gardens make the connections you mentioned, I believe they teach self-sufficiency. In general, Americans are totally dependent on corporations to feed us. Teaching our children the importance of some degree of self-sufficiency in our convenient/dependent food culture is a huge boon to having a school garden.

Good luck with Healthy Schools’ legislation. I hope to see more legislation in more cities just like that.