September 2023

According to the National Institutes of Health, the number of school gardens is on the rise, and we’re excited to be a part of that trend. How school gardens are used and who manages them varies widely. We’ve mostly focused on curriculum connections and how standards-based lessons can be delivered in the garden space. However, some gardens are additionally, or exclusively, used for a club option. This is the first article in a new series on School Garden Clubs. Doug Vernon (DV) is putting on the “reporter” hat and asking questions of garden club leaders from around the state to bring their experiences to you.

Kannapolis YMCA

Garden Club Leader: Kevin Mateer (KM)

DV: How long have you had a garden club?

KM: We started the club in the spring of 2021, so a little over 2 years.

DV: When does the garden club meet, seasonally or year-round?

KM: It is year-round. Primarily, kids from our after-school program help with the garden, and also some from the summer camp program. These are K-8 students. 

DV: How do members join the garden club? 

KM: Students registered in our after-school program automatically join the garden club as it is part of our after-school curriculum. We currently have about 75 garden club participants. Everyone works together through the year to plant, harvest, fertilize, water and prep the beds for each season.

DV: How does the club use the garden harvest? 

KM: We send all of the produce we grow home with the kids each season and if we have extra we let YMCA members take some home too. Many parents have told me that their kids are more excited about eating their vegetables when they helped to grow them.

DV: Is anyone else allowed to use the garden? 

KM: Yes! Counselors use the garden as a group activity space from time to time, typically to weed, plant or harvest as a group.

DV: Do you use volunteer groups to help support the garden? 

KM: We have had some volunteers help set out new plants in the garden. They are typically YMCA members who have asked to help out.

DV: What are the benefits of the garden club, from your perspective? 

KM: The biggest benefit has been educating kids about how their food is grown and how much work it takes. Also, the fact that we have helped to get kids to eat more healthy options is a big benefit.

DV: Is there a success story or memorable experience related to the garden club you’d like to share?

KM: We had a child who was so glued to his computer each day, he would verbally and physically resist attempts to limit the device use. After starting to help with the garden, it has become his new favorite activity at the Y. He has become more active and he’s opened up and made new friends, where he used to just stare at a screen all afternoon. His outlook seemed to change after starting to garden.

This after-school program is effectively using their garden to

• impact kids eating habits, 
• positively impact social behaviors,
• allow kids the opportunity for healthy outdoor activity. 

Would a garden club be an effective option for getting kids into the garden at your school or community organization? Look for more examples as we go through the year.

Do you have a garden club that you’d like to share? Contact Doug at [email protected].

If you’re planning a tasting this fall, consider reading Sylvia’s Spinach, by Katherine Pryor, to your class as a model for exploring new foods, even foods you might think you don’t like. Check out this lesson plan (with Kindergarten standards noted) to accompany Sylvia’s Spinach and guide you through garden exploration of living and nonliving things, planting and tasting.

You may also notice a recurring theme through our newsletters this year as we focus on pollinators. Join us as we explore this important aspect of nature, including how it can be incorporated into the school garden. To start things off, we’ll lay a foundation with some broad basics in this Q&A.

Q: What is pollination? 

A: Pollination is an essential part of plant reproduction. Some plants may be self-pollinating, while others require wind or insects to move the pollen. For example, pollen from a flower’s anthers (the male part of the plant) may rub or drop onto an insect pollinator that is passing or visiting the flower (sometimes for nectar). The insect pollinator then carries this pollen to another flower where the pollen sticks to the stigma (the female part). With a little luck and a lot of nature’s wonder, the pollen travels to the flower ovary resulting in a fertilized flower that will later yield fruit and seeds.

Q: Why is pollination important?

A: Pollination is important for a strong, healthy ecosystem. It has been said that one in three bites of food you eat depends on pollinators. That is a real concern for threats to pollinator populations. Have you ever considered the foods that depend on pollination? All of these and more–apples, oranges, lemons, limes, avocados, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, tomatoes, squash, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, kiwi, figs, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, almonds, coffee, and cacao (that’s right…coffee and chocolate!). Don’t just think about the fruit, but think about all the many food products, from orange juice and fruit-filled breakfast bars, to pasta sauce, guacamole and even ketchup!

Q: Who are our pollinators?

A: Honey bees are the celebrities of the pollinator world, and they are certainly important contributors; but there are others that you might not have even considered. As mentioned earlier, wind can transfer pollen, but here is a list of animal pollinators playing second fiddle to the honey bee.

• ants
• bats 
• bumble bees
• beetles 
• butterflies 
• flies 
• hummingbirds 
• moths
• spiders
• wasps

Q: What is pollinator migration?

A: Most folks are aware of bird migration, but have you ever considered that other creatures, including pollinators, also migrate? Some pollinators migrate seasonally; perhaps most familiar is the monarch butterfly. As temperatures drop and food resources dwindle, pollinators will move toward warmer climates. Some pollinators are known to travel as many as 1,000 miles between their summer and winter habitats just to survive. The path between a pollinator's summer and winter habitat is called a migratory corridor. Pollinators that migrate time their journey to coincide with the flowering and fruiting of different plants en route. They depend on irregular patches of flowering plants that guarantee rest and food as they travel. As climate patterns change, we are observing that many pollinators adapt their migration patterns in order to survive.

Here are a couple children's books to check out to learn more about monarch migration.

Q: What is pollinator hibernation?

A: If asked to name an animal that hibernates, I suspect “bear” would the be most popular answer and “bees” might not even make the top 10 list. Some pollinators also use hibernation in a similar way that bears do. Hibernation is when animals slow down their body systems to a dormant state as a survival mechanism when faced with a threatening environment or food scarcity, as can occur during the winter season. Like bears, pollinators must increase the amount of food they eat and store, and find a safe place to hide until weather and food conditions improve. 

Learn more about the migration or hibernation practices of butterflies, hummingbirds, bats and bees.