Want to get planting with your students but not quite sure how to tackle the forest of weeds growing in your beds?

Build better soil while doing less work with the following steps.

SETTING GARDEN ROUTINES

As the school year begins, creating a positive, productive learning environment by setting expectations and crafting routines is a priority for many school staff members. But the classroom isn’t the only space educators should consider when thinking about this kind of tone-setting. Expectations and routines also need to be set in the garden in order to ensure successful outdoor learning occurs throughout the school year.

The great news is that many of the best practices for setting expectations and creating routines in the classroom apply to outdoor learning. Just like in the classroom, expectations are most powerful when they are co-created, taught explicitly, practiced and positively reinforced. Instead of diving immediately into academic instruction, consider taking your class outside for a “getting to know the outdoor classroom” lesson or two, where they can practice meeting those expectations and following those routines. Have students get comfortable with their outdoor learning space with simple activities like scavenger hunts or practice tool safety by digging. 

Check out more inspiration from Friendship Woodridge garden teachers on how to introduce garden-based learning to students and other teachers. Or dive into creating positive outdoor experiences with Green Schoolyards America and learn tips and tricks for outdoor classroom management from the Boston Schoolyard Initiative.

– Caroline

Hear it from our participants first! This direct feedback shows how impactful and important our Summer Institute for Garden-based Teaching is for D.C. educators. 

On Day 1, attendees connected with each other during a walk and talk tour of the Arboretum, reflected on their personal and then professional “why,” listened to former Summer Institute participants share their school garden journeys, and learned the basics of sustainable gardening in D.C. 

Then on Day 2, they got their hands dirty in the garden identifying weeds and pests, starting seeds, composting with Najwa of SiStained8, and container gardening with Kimani of Gardening & Beats. Participants were led through the Youth Garden as if on a SPROUT field trip to learn tips and tricks to manage groups of children outdoors. They learned how to get creative with teaching math, literacy, and social-emotional learning through garden-based education with Susan of FRESHFARM FoodPrints. Attendees finished up the day with choosing between learning how to sustain their school gardens or how to create more accessible and engaging gardens for students with disabilities. 

We loaded a charter bus on Day 3 and toured three school gardens of various sizes and program components. Participants made their own salad dressing at KIPP Webb, participated in a thoughtful Q&A on their rooftop garden at Van Ness, and dug up volunteer ground cherries to take home at Bancroft ES. 

During the last day participants experienced tried and true lessons from a wide range of educators at D.C. schools and support organizations (including City Blossoms, Urban Adventure Squad, Casey Trees, FoodCorps, the U.S. Botanic Garden, D.C. Beekeepers Alliance, DOEE/RiverSmart, UDC Master Gardeners, DDOT, and Share-a-Seed), brainstormed with grade level groups, plotted out their goals for the next school year with their school team, and finally presented their school team’s "why" and action steps in a gallery walk. 

We are so grateful for the educators who showed up and gave their full selves to this experience, allowing themselves to be transformed through connection with the earth and each other. As facilitators of this training, we owe a lot of the intentionality and success to Life Lab’s Leadership Institute, as well as our learning from leading past Summer Institutes. We can’t wait to see what each educator has in store for their students this coming school year. As always, past participants of the Summer Institute are able to apply to our yearly Educator Coaching Program for more targeted support during the school year. 

-Allie & Ashley

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