Month: February 2018

MONSANTO FUND AWARDS GRANT TO GATEWAY GREENING FOR SEED TO STEM PROGRAM

Posted on by beanstalk

    ST. LOUIS (February 23rd, 2018)- Students in Gateway Greening’s Seed to STEM program keep growing thanks to a $205,000 grant from the Monsanto Fund for 2018-2019.

    Gateway Greening has a long history of assisting St. Louis schools to fund and support school gardens. To help teachers effectively use the garden as an outdoor classroom and learning laboratory, Gateway Greening educators developed the Seed to STEM program.

    “The Monsanto Fund grant makes it possible for Gateway Greening educators to provide weekly Seed to STEM lessons in five St. Louis Public Schools. Seed to STEM is a hands-on K-5 science curriculum that uses school gardens to reinforce Next Generation Science Standards, develop scientific inquiry skills, and inspire students to connect to their environment, food system and community,” said Lucy Herleth, Gateway Greeening’s School Program Manager. “With the Monsanto Fund grant, Gateway Greening is also able to support over 60 youth gardens as well as offer  monthly educator workshops, district professional development and site-specific trainings.

    The Seed to STEM curriculum is also available free to anyone that works with youth through the Gateway Greening website and its monthly educator email newsletter. Gateway Greening estimates that its school garden programs, along with the Seed to STEM initiative, have empowered more than 13,000 students across the St. Louis region to garden.

    Lauren Hollis, a teacher at Clay Academy, said it takes “confidence” for educators to garden successfully with their students.

    “In the beginning, I was so scared I was going to kill the plants,” said Hollis.  “Now I have the experience and someone to answer questions.  After going to the garden (for the past year), I would totally teach any lesson outside with confidence and not be worried.”

    She also said gardening helps students to understand that food doesn’t just magically appear at the grocery store.

    “Gardens help the students learn more about their environment and learn where their food is from,” she added.  “Gardens help them see a process – a plant growing or a pumpkin decomposing.”

    Clay Academy’s school garden was founded in 1993 and with the support of Gateway Greening educators and the Monsanto Fund, it has become a thriving outdoor classroom.  Additionally, continued support from the Monsanto Fund will allow Gateway Greening to expand the Seed to STEM curriculum so that more teachers and students throughout the St. Louis region will have access to the program.

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    ABOUT GATEWAY GREENING

    Gateway Greening, www.gatewaygreening.org, educates and empowers people to strengthen their communities through gardening and urban agriculture. Led by Executive Director Matt Schindler, the organization supports over 200 community gardens and food projects as well as 60 school gardens in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area.

    ABOUT THE MONSANTO FUND

    The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

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    School Program Manager Lucy Herleth visiting Ms. Hayes’ fourth grade class at Gateway Elementary to help students plan which crops to grow in their school garden.

    Fostering Student Ownership in the School Garden

    Posted on by beanstalk

     

    How do you foster a sense of student ownership and investment in their school garden? By encouraging them to be a part of the decision making process.

    Last week, Ms. Davie’s and Ms. Hayes’s 4th grade classes at Gateway Elementary decided what to plant in their school garden based on planting dates, germination rates, and factored in the days till harvest. But first, they had to learn how to read seed packets and planting calendars so that they could make informed decisions.

     

    Fostering student ownership through participation in the decision making process.
    School Program Manager Lucy Herleth visiting Ms. Hayes’ fourth grade class at Gateway Elementary to help students plan which crops to grow in their school garden.

     

    Learning to Interpret Seed Packets

    At the beginning of class Gateway Greening Educator Lucy Herleth passed out seed packets of different fruit and vegetable types to each student. Some students groaned when they ended up with packets of green beans, while one young lady cheered: “I got tomatoes!”

    For many of the fourth graders, this was their first opportunity to read a seed packet up close, so Miss Lucy gave a quick lesson. Building on previous class discussions, students connected the general plant life cycles they had learned about before to the specific information that was provided by the seed packet.

    Seed packets provide a wealth of important information: when to plant the seeds, the number of days it required to germinate (appear above ground), the number of days the plant must grow before it is ready to be harvested, and most importantly, the amount of sun and water the plant would need to grow.

    After the lesson, Lucy tested the student’s knowledge with a fun pop quiz. Each class was asked to line up in a straight line using their seed packets. Student’s whose crops would be ready for harvest quickly at the front of the line, while students with crops that had longer grow periods were towards the back – and they weren’t allowed to talk while doing it. After two minutes of chaos, the kids were lined up in order and ready to head out to the greenhouse.

    Student Crop Selection

    Gateway Elementary has a sizable greenhouse built inside the school – the perfect place to start seed crops at the end of winter. Before anything could be planted though, some decisions needed to be made.

    Each student was given a copy of Gateway Greening’s planting calendar. Regionally specific, this calendar shows the seeding, transplant, and harvest dates for many of the crops local community and backyard gardeners commonly grow in St. Louis. For this part of the lesson, each student was asked to find up to three plants that they personally would like to grow in the Gateway Elementary school garden this year.

    Next, Lucy asked each student to tape photos of their plants to the wall under the month that the crop should be planted in. With a little help from the planting calendar, students quickly created a colorful display of crops on the wall – and clearly told their teachers which crops they want to grow in the school garden this year.

    Fostering student ownership through participation.
    Fourth grade students using the information found on seed packets and a regionally specific planting calendar to make informed decisions regarding what to plant in their school garden this spring.

     

    Managing Expectations – the Fun Way

    By asking the fourth graders to share their plant choices using pictures taped to the wall, Lucy created a highly visual planting calendar specific to the students’ garden. Using their earlier lesson on reading seed packets, Miss Lucy and the kids were able to talk about which plants they would be able to grow and harvest before the students left for summer break.

    Many regional crops are harvested during June and July – a time when students aren’t in class. However, there are many crops that St. Louis students can plant in early spring and harvest before summer break begins late in May. Peas, radishes, carrots, and lettuce, to name a few. Limited growing space and time will mean that not every crop the students asked for will make it into the Gateway Elementary school garden this year, but the majority of them will.

    When the fourth graders visit the garden this spring, they will get to watch “their” plants grow and try new produce that they chose for themselves.

    It may be February in St. Louis, but the fourth grade students of Ms. Davie and Ms. Hayes classes at Gateway Elementary are already getting a head start on their school garden.

    Looking for more ways to incorporate the school garden into your lesson plan? Stop by:

    • Gateway Greening’s Workshops for Educators page to explore monthly workshops that address the challenges and opportunities represented by teaching in school gardens
    • The Gateway Greening Educators Facebook group to connect with other teachers throughout St. Louis with similar interests in school gardens
    • Check out our In the School Garden Youtube playlist for short, actionable how-to videos that are seasonally relevant.

    2018 Community Agriculture Conference Celebrates Innovative St. Louis Projects

    Posted on by beanstalk

    Gateway Greening celebrates innovative St. Louis projects with convergence of local and national urban agriculture leaders.

    ST. LOUIS, MO. (February 16, 2018) – Gateway Greening, a non-profit organization in St. Louis that educates and empowers people to strengthen their communities through gardening and urban agriculture, will host its annual Community Agriculture Conference on Sunday, February 25 from 12:00 PM-5:00 PM at St. Louis University High School, 4970 Oakland Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110. The event is sponsored by Ameren Missouri, Fehlig Bros Box & Lumber Company, Whole Foods, and funds from the City of St. Louis’ Community Development Administration.

    “This gathering will highlight national and regional initiatives making a difference in community agriculture. Attendees have the opportunity to learn from local experts, and connect with other change-makers in St. Louis that are changing our city by growing food. Converging community gardeners, urban farmers, and regional small growers, the conference creates a platform to learn about everything from urban orchards, to building community with school gardens.” – Matt Even, Community Education Manager at Gateway Greening.

    The list to-date of local and national urban agriculture leaders participating include: Rob Reiman, Executive Director, The Giving Grove in Kansas City; Nicole Hudson, Deputy Mayor for Racial Equity and Priority Initiatives; Ryan Albritton, Sprouthood and the Progressive Strategy Coalition; Matt Lebon, Custom Foodscaping; Brigette Zettl, St. Louis Community College; Nelver Brooks, Nahed Chapman New American Academy; Petra Baker, Gateway Michael Elementary School; Hannah Reinhart, the Saint Louis Science Center GROW Exhibit; Millie Mattfeldt-Beaman, the North City Food Hub; Gibron Jones, HOSCO Foods; and Bill Anderson, St. Louis University High School.

    Gateway Greening is offering a limited number of full scholarships to selected participants. Applications are accepted, reviewed, and granted on a rolling basis until funds are depleted for this program.

    Tickets can be purchased for $20 per person. To purchase tickets, for scholarship information, for sponsorship opportunities, and to learn additional event details, please visit https://gatewaygreening.org/community-agriculture-conference/

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    About Gateway Greening

    Gateway Greening is a non-profit organization that educates and empowers people to strengthen their communities through gardening and urban agriculture. Gateway Greening has been working to provide creative, grassroots solutions to urban problems since 1984. Programs include supporting more than 200 community and youth-focused gardens across the St. Louis area through educational opportunities, grants, and technical assistance; founding and providing ongoing material and educational support for community fruit and nut orchards; and Seed to STEM program which assists teachers in creating hands-on lessons in the school garden connected to federal education standards.

    For more information on Gateway Greening and its programs visit www.gatewaygreening.org or call 314-588-9600.

    Teacher Spotlight: Lauren Hollis

    Posted on by beanstalk

    Interview with Lauren Hollis, a teacher at Clay Academy in St. Louis, MO., about how she personally became involved in the school’s garden. 

    Educator Lauren Hollis standing with her class in front of Clay Academy’s gazebo in the school garden.

     

    How long have you been gardening personally? How long have you been gardening with students?

    Probably just 2 years. My parents have a pretty big garden. My mom just got started gardening but we’re both rookies. We Pinterest a lot of things.

     

    Were you hesitant to get outside at first?

    For sure. Taking the kids anywhere outside the classroom is a little bit nerve-racking. They have so much room to run and it makes me nervous. But the more you expose them to the outdoors, the more they listen and are familiar with it. I have learned a lot – I give my mom tips now, tried new foods like bok choy.  

    I have to be a leader and try what is growing in the garden.  If I don’t try it, the kids are going to just say, “no thanks.”

     

    What is your students’ favorite part of gardening?

    Exposing them to the outdoors. Getting them to try new foods, teaching them about their environment and what plants and animals need.

     

    What is your favorite thing to plant with your students?

    Tomatoes because they don’t really try tomatoes for lunch. They are not open to trying tomatoes, sauce, or in the salads at lunch. In the garden, they pick the tomatoes and they eat them just fine. Even if they don’t like them the first time, you let them try the tomatoes again. They still may not like them but they are willing to try them. Even the kale. They wouldn’t eat that normally but they will in the garden.

     

    Why do you believe school gardening is important?

    Gardens help the students learn more about their environment and learn where their food is from. Not all of their food comes from the grocery store or magically appears. Kids don’t get out very much or get to garden on their own. Gardens help them see a process – a plant growing or a pumpkin decomposing.

     

    What do you think teachers need the most in order to garden successfully?

    Confidence. In the beginning, I was so scared I was going to kill all the plants. Now I have experience and someone to answer questions. After going to the garden (for the past year) I would totally teach any lesson outside with confidence and not be worried. If I wouldn’t have gone to the garden every Wednesday, that never would have happened. I now can expose them to learning outdoors more.

     

    Do you have a favorite garden book?

    The Leaf Man. I love reading the story and letting them go find leaves. The things they turn the leaves into, even at this young of an age, is incredible.

     

    What are you excited to try this coming growing season?

    Plant things that I’ve never heard of or the kids have never heard of. Things that the kids are not exposed to. Next week we’re trying radishes. I am excited for them to try a radish. If they can eat Flaming Hot Cheetos, they can try a spicy radish.

     

    What is your advice for other school gardeners?

    Have confidence and just get out there. The more you are out there, the better your kids will acclimate to being outside.  They need more exposure to the outdoors than the playground.

     

    Looking for more ways to incorporate the school garden into your lesson plan? Stop by:

    • Gateway Greening’s Workshops for Educators page to explore monthly workshops that address the challenges and opportunities represented by teaching in school gardens
    • The Gateway Greening Educators Facebook group to connect with other teachers throughout St. Louis with similar interests in school gardens
    • Check out our In the School Garden Youtube playlist for short, actionable how-to videos that are seasonally relevant.