Des Magness I have a very personal connection to the issue of gardening in schools. As a kid, I went to “The Living School”, in which the curriculum was based on outdoor learning and gardening. For many years, I shared a garden plot with a partner in which I could experiment, play, and watch the plants I had tended to grow and develop, and in the end produce food. Each child in the school also participated in a community garden, working together to grow and tend to plants. I feel that this type of education allowed to me to find effective ways to communicate and share with others, as well as allowed me to explore creativity, and grow up with a heightened respect for the environment. Because of this, I feel very strongly about elementary school aged children having access to gardening and the environment around them, and this type of education being an important part of curriculum. When brainstorming ideas for our project, this instantly came to mind as something that needs addressing in our community. This is an issue in which we can make a difference, and affect many young children’s development, education, and environmental awareness.
Savannah Moe Looking back at my childhood, I don’t think that I had an appreciation for the environment. I was never interested in plants or lack thereof in my household and couldn't care less about the garden that my sister started in our back yard. My interest in gardening did not begin until my freshmen year when I joined the gardening club. After participating in the club for a few weeks, I found myself connecting things that I had learned in garden club to seemingly unrelated things. I began making connections with non garden related things and that is when I began to understand the importance of gardening for younger children. The ability to garden as children has been proven to be beneficial to the development and growth of children. I am interested in this topic because it combines working with children and aiding with the environment. There is very little stress on the importance of gardening in elementary schools due to the fact that there is very little resources in comparison to the number of students. I feel it is the responsibility of older generations to reintroduce the importance gardening to the younger generations especially with the rise of technology.
Luis Salinas Some of the most memorable experiences I had as a child have came from spending time at my elementary school garden. Having lived through those valuable moments developed me into an avid gardening enthusiast, and motivated me to participate in a gardening club at my school. My passion for gardening has followed me all the way through high school, and doing so has helped strengthen my foundations socially and intellectually. The many untold benefits that came from gardening at such a young age will continue to influence the way I look at the world around me. Since gardening had a such great impact on my life I felt that choosing to help give other kids the opportunity to experience gardening for themselves would be an amazing topic to use for our capstone project, and a great way to take action in our community as a group.
Sydney McAfee To me, the environment is the most important aspect of our current and future lives on this planet. I believe that the issues involving the environment are urgent and deserve our attention in order to support this planet that we call home. I started to think more about this topic when we went on the AGS trip to Costa Rica sophomore year. There, I saw how sustainable gardening and agriculture positively affected their community and people. Also while visiting a local farm there, I saw how cultivating plants made the kids there have such a great respect for their environment. That is the reason why I was so drawn to the topic of gardening with children because kids have so much influence on the future of our planet and they also have an appetite for learning that is a lot greater than others. My hope is to positively help the environment by learning about the importance of gardening and by serving my community.
Savannah Moe Looking back at my childhood, I don’t think that I had an appreciation for the environment. I was never interested in plants or lack thereof in my household and couldn't care less about the garden that my sister started in our back yard. My interest in gardening did not begin until my freshmen year when I joined the gardening club. After participating in the club for a few weeks, I found myself connecting things that I had learned in garden club to seemingly unrelated things. I began making connections with non garden related things and that is when I began to understand the importance of gardening for younger children. The ability to garden as children has been proven to be beneficial to the development and growth of children. I am interested in this topic because it combines working with children and aiding with the environment. There is very little stress on the importance of gardening in elementary schools due to the fact that there is very little resources in comparison to the number of students. I feel it is the responsibility of older generations to reintroduce the importance gardening to the younger generations especially with the rise of technology.
Luis Salinas Some of the most memorable experiences I had as a child have came from spending time at my elementary school garden. Having lived through those valuable moments developed me into an avid gardening enthusiast, and motivated me to participate in a gardening club at my school. My passion for gardening has followed me all the way through high school, and doing so has helped strengthen my foundations socially and intellectually. The many untold benefits that came from gardening at such a young age will continue to influence the way I look at the world around me. Since gardening had a such great impact on my life I felt that choosing to help give other kids the opportunity to experience gardening for themselves would be an amazing topic to use for our capstone project, and a great way to take action in our community as a group.
Sydney McAfee To me, the environment is the most important aspect of our current and future lives on this planet. I believe that the issues involving the environment are urgent and deserve our attention in order to support this planet that we call home. I started to think more about this topic when we went on the AGS trip to Costa Rica sophomore year. There, I saw how sustainable gardening and agriculture positively affected their community and people. Also while visiting a local farm there, I saw how cultivating plants made the kids there have such a great respect for their environment. That is the reason why I was so drawn to the topic of gardening with children because kids have so much influence on the future of our planet and they also have an appetite for learning that is a lot greater than others. My hope is to positively help the environment by learning about the importance of gardening and by serving my community.