Farming Instead of Recess: More Schools Launch Garden Programs to Plant Seeds of Learning

Posted on Jan 31 2016 - 8:28pm by UOG
Adult Volunteer Celine Belotti (center) assists Ava Foote in and Lucas Aga in planting vegetables at the Ecology Center at Malcolm Elementary School in Laguna Niguel. //////// Additional Information  ocfamily.garden 11/12/15 Photo by Nick Koon / Staff Photographer.  The Ecology Center at Malcolm Elementary school trains teachers and volunteers on gardening so they can then teach students on how to start and maintain a garden.

Adult Volunteer Celine Belotti (center) assists Ava Foote in and Lucas Aga in planting vegetables at the Ecology Center at Malcolm Elementary School in Laguna Niguel.
Additional Information ocfamily.garden 11/12/15 Photo by Nick Koon / Staff Photographer. The Ecology Center at Malcolm Elementary school trains teachers and volunteers on gardening so they can then teach students on how to start and maintain a garden.

Several days a week, at Malcom Elementary School, kids anxiously wait to skip their recess during lunch hour. Instead of playing on the playground, children line up outside of the school’s garden.  The children work on starting vegetables and herbs from seed, and learn techniques for transplanting and thinning seedlings.  They also participate in activities like scavenger hunts that are centered around botany.

“Since 2012, the Grow Your Own! program has expanded to serve 30 area schools, and now receives more applications than it can accept. The Ecology Center consults with schools about garden design and provides guidance about what to plant. The organization also offers curriculum development and ongoing training for teachers and garden volunteers.”

Read the rest of the article at: “OCregister.com

 

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