SPRING INTO SCHOOL GARDENING SUCCESS

Every school year, our School Garden Support team hosts bi-annual events in the fall and spring focused on preparing educators to shift their garden with the seasons. In late March, we hosted our spring seasonal training, Spring Into School Gardening. This event was open to all DC educators to get supplies for their school gardens and network with fellow garden educators. Participants also attended workshops to prepare their gardens for the spring. Allie led a Garden Planning workshop, and Emilia led Preparing Garden Beds using no-till practices.

Despite the rainy weather, we had many teachers come join us and gave away spring seeds, seedlings, cover crop, straw, and compost! This event also served as our spring meet up for our Educator Coaching Program (ECP) cohort, where they celebrated successes, held solution sessions for challenges, and shared best practices for their school garden programs. Additionally, our ECP cohort welcomed our feathered friends to their school gardens by upcycling milk cartons to create bird feeders.

If you’re interested in joining our Educator Coaching Program for the 2023-24 school year, the first step is to join us this summer for our 2023 Summer Institute for Garden-based Teaching. The first round of applications has closed but we are accepting applications until all of our spots have been filled. Have a happy and bountiful summer!

– Ashley

No summer staff to maintain your garden? No problem!

Learn how to plant for back to school harvests and an easier-to-maintain garden over the summer.

Our favorites include bush beans, melons, and sunflowers.

Other summer crops that can be seeded directly in the soil (don't need an already grown seedling or baby plant), but will need more regular harvesting over the summer include basil, cucumbers, and squash.

Learn more planting tips in the spring planting guide from Chaia and Love&Carrots here.

– Emilia

3RD GRADE CONSERVATION & HABITAT SERIES

In March and April, I co-taught with Mrs. Thomas of Houston Elementary to facilitate an action project related to helping the wildlife of DC. We started by learning about five moderately-threatened species who live in the DMV: the Wood Thrush (bird), Little Brown Bat (mammal), Eastern Box Turtle (reptile), Wood Frog (amphibian), and American Shad (fish). 

The students then chose one species to focus on and drew the animal’s habitat, making sure to include where they live and what they eat. During the next class, they dove deeper and researched their species using tablets and a research guide. Using their research, they added to their drawings and then created dioramas of their animal in their habitat. They presented their work to the class. 

Students learned simultaneously what is threatening wildlife and some examples of ways to help. As teachers, we chose to highlight specific actions that we knew were feasible and within our scope. You may choose different examples to share with your class depending on your context and creativity. Make sure to emphasize that the examples are just options and you welcome any other ideas from your students. Then, truly let it be up to your students to decide what to do! 

Houston’s 3rd graders chose to make bug hotels (weather-proof boxes filled with natural materials and small crevices for beneficial insects to make homes). We will make them soon so they can hang in the school garden and encourage insects to take up residence, which will hopefully spur more native wildlife on Houston’s school grounds.  

– Allie

We find amazing garden-based resources through other newsletters we subscribe to. Receive OSSE's Sprout it Out newsletter below.