Publication Date
2015
Abstract
The Amherst School Gardens Project connects UMass Amherst Stockbridge undergraduate students to Amherst Public Elementary Schools in order to facilitate shared learning in the outdoor classroom. Our mission is to provide elementary school level children with hands on gardening experience, empowering knowledge of their foods’ origins, lessons that correspond with the U.S. Department of Education’s “Common Core State Standards,” and a community that encompasses the varying citizens of Amherst. The environmental, social, and economic implications of this program are boundless. In essence, the project transforms inert grass lawns on Amherst elementary school sites into productive gardens contributing to the biodiversity of the ecosystems they exist within, simultaneously educating children about the food systems that they are a part of. This invites them to explore sustainable practices, creating a greater demand for these within many of the systems we exist in. The result is an increase in interest regarding environmental impact and science in general, as well as a greater consumption of vegetables/fruits in-school/at home demonstrated through personal observations and affirmed by a number of scientific studies.
Pages
13