School Garden Gateway — Indigenous teachings

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LATE FALL 2022

ECP Cohort Only: Save the Date

Early Winter Gathering

Thursday, December 1st, 4:30 - 6:00PM

HOW ARE YOU CONNECTED TO THE HISTORY OF AND LEARNING FROM OUR INDIGENOUS NEIGHBORS?

November is Native American Heritage (or Indigenous Peoples) Month and I encourage you to learn more about the current members and culture of the Piscataway Indian Nation and Piscataway Conoy tribe, particularly the Cedarville band and the efforts of Through Piscataway Eyes to rematriate the land that we live and work on in D.C. and the surrounding counties of Maryland. Refer to this toolkit from the Catalyst Project for questions to help guide your research and solidarity with Indigenous nations acting for justice and sovereignty. Many of the ideas we share about in the garden tip below stem from centuries-old Indigenous and African agricultural practices. As educators who center Kahesena Haki (our Mother Earth) in our work, we must honor and celebrate those who came before us here.

How are you sharing the history of the land you live and/or work on with your students and community?

How can you move beyond acknowledgment and consumption and toward healing historical harms to support local Indigenous-led land work?

-Allie

“Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart.”

— Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass

SUSTAINABLE GARDEN TIP

PUTTING YOUR GARDEN TO BED FOR THE WINTER

What happens to your school garden in the winter? Here are some helpful tips to put your garden to sleep including mulching and planting cover crops, selective pruning, and overwintering.

-Emilia

6 SEASON SCHOOL GARDEN GUIDE

CURRICULAR RESOURCES

CHILDREN'S BOOKS CELEBRATING LATINE & INDIGENOUS CULTURES

I have been loving these children's books to learn about indigenous cultures and mindsets about the earth, food, and community alongside the teachers and students I collaborate with.

Find the full list of books and what they are about here.

Which of these books could provide a window or mirror for your students?

What children’s books have you read with your students that celebrate Latine and Indigenous cultures?

-Allie

FALL INTO SCHOOL GARDENING UPDATE

We hosted our second bi-annual Fall into School Gardening event, a resource for the whole D.C. school garden community, on a gorgeous early fall day in the Washington Youth Garden. Teachers participating received over 300 seedlings, and were also able to pick up straw, compost, cover crop, and fall seeds for their school gardens. They also joined in a workshop on preparing garden beds for the fall growing season using no-till practices.

13 teachers from our partner schools also joined early for the kick off of the Educator Coaching Program (ECP). Teachers met each other, received culturally relevant books about nature, food, and the environment, and shared what they hoped to learn during their year as a part of the ECP. One teacher shared, "I am grateful for all of the resources and the warm welcoming vibe and good conversations."

Keep an eye out for our Spring into School Gardening event in March as well as other garden events for school teachers, administrators, and community members.

-Brianne

ECP COHORT PROGRESS REFLECTION

The fall season is always a busy time for schools and it is no different with our school partners. For the 2022-23 school year, the ECP has hit the ground running with 11 partner schools. We have met with each school team to set 3 or 4 goals that will be accomplished over the course of the school year.

Some of our schools have used their gardens to celebrate the cultures of their community. Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy hosted a schoolwide lunchtime taste test comparing two salsas (green tomato and roja) in honor of Hispanic Heritage month and Bruce Monroe highlighted the story of interdependence with Calabacitas con maiz y frijoles, a tasty Milpa (three sisters) stew for Teach Central America week. Friendship Woodridge gave out fragrant herbs and easy-to-grow seeds from their garden, supplemented by the WYG, during their Book-O-Ween.

Friendship Armstrong, Turner, Brightwood, and KIPP Spring have used their school gardens to share healthy, fresh foods with their community by having produce distributions from their garden and the WYG.

Other educators have focused on extending student learning with garden co-teaching and schoolwide professional development in collaboration with FONA staff.

Each school team has a diverse set of goals they want to accomplish and a unique vision for their school garden program. As the seasons change and we move to put gardens to sleep for the winter, we will work with our partners to continue their garden programs through the colder months and prepare for the spring.

-Ashley

UPCOMING EVENTS & RESOURCES

Next Outdoor Learning Gathering

Nov 16th, 4-5:30pm

Payne Elementary School - 1445 C St. SE, Washington, DC 20003

This month, visit a chicken in school program at Payne ES. Representatives from DC Health will be on hand to answer questions about the application process for obtaining chickens for educational use.

Required registration here.

Food Is More Than Just What We Eat

Indigenous ways of life and traditions are highly connected to the environment and the foods it provides. Long before their contact with Europeans, Indigenous Peoples populated the Americas and were successful stewards and managers of the land.

Read the full guide from NMAI's Native Knowledge 360° Education Initiative.

Free USDA Farm to School Stickers

Order up to three free rolls of 2-inch stickers to encourage students and children to enjoy local foods. Learn more and order here.

We find garden-based resources through other newsletters we subscribe to. Receive the School Garden Support Organization Network's newsletter below.

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Come see us next time you're at the National Arboretum!

The Arboretum is open every day from 8 AM - 5 PM except December 25th.

Check Our Website for Full Details >

Washington Youth Garden is the youth outreach and education branch of Friends of the National Arboretum. By supporting FONA, you support WYG connecting thousands of students each year to food, the land, and each other.

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FONA 2021 END OF YEAR REPORT

FONA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization with the mission to preserve and enhance a vibrant public space and support experiential programming that instills a love of plants, nature and the outdoors in all who visit, while promoting the overarching research and education mission of the U.S. National Arboretum.

Since its inception, FONA has helped support the Washington Youth Garden, Capitol Columns, Flowering Tree Walk, horticultural and research internships, restoration of Springhouse Run, and much more.

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