4-H Project Green Teacher
Fall 2019
2019 School Garden Conference Set for Campus of Ohio State on October 25th.
Sixth School Garden Conference Set for October 25th on the OSU Campus
The sixth school garden conference will take place October 25th, 2019 at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center on the Ohio State University campus. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m., and the conference is from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cost for the conference is $50 which includes continental breakfast, lunch, snack and all program materials. A certificate for six contact hours will be presented to participants. The conference is hosted by 4-H personnel from Ohio State University Extension in Franklin County.
The theme of this year’s conference is project-based learning and the school garden, and many sessions will have a hands-on component. Keynote speakers for the day include Joe Brown, Food Service Director at Columbus City Schools and Christine Weatherholtz, the first Nutrition/Farm to School Curriculum Coordinator for the District which now has over 40 school gardens. Columbus City Schools is the largest school district in the state and ranks in the top 100 nationally.
Other presenters for the day include Ohio State University Extension personnel and emeritus, Franklin County Master Gardener volunteers, area teachers, and non-profit personnel from Highland Youth Garden and Franklin Park Conservatory, among others.
Conference sessions will focus on project-based learning in the school garden, evaluating the garden for success, insect dissection, climate change in the garden, seed starting and plant propagation, understanding GMOs, agriculture decoded, extracting DNA from a strawberry, paper towel gardening, planting succulents, root vegetables in the school garden, engineering design process watering activity, heritage gardening and more.
Franklin County OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers will be on hand to answer garden questions, and other tables will have representatives from Franklin County 4-H, Farm to School, Franklin County Health Department, Byrd Polar Research Center, ODNR, SNAP, and more.
In the past school, university, afterschool and health department personnel, etc. have attended the event. The last day to register is October 23rd, and refunds cannot be given after October 18th.
Register online at go.osu.edu/sgc2019
For additional information contact Sue Hogan at: hogan.239@osu.edu
CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information, visit cfaesdiversity.osu.edu. For an accessible format of publication, visit cfaes.osu.edu/accessibility
Friday, Oct 25, 2019, 09:00 AM
Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, Fred Taylor Drive, Columbus, OH, USA
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New 4-H Project Green Teachers Complete Summer Program
Munch, Munch Munch: It's Time for the Apple Crunch !
The Ohio registration for the Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch is now live! Encourage your staff and students to bite into a locally grown apple during the month of October. Ohio had 206,000 registrants last year and the goal for this year is to have 300,000. Help spread the word by posting the registration link on social media pages, sharing at events and to schools, centers and organizations in your area. For more information about Apple Crunch, visit the Great Lakes Apple Crunch homepage. You can also find the guides at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dOD_uuXx54KCa1iKYL5ppHxJ4xR9oz72
Monarchs Depend on Milkweed Pod Seeds: Now's the Time to Collect Them
Monarch butterflies depend on Milkweed to survive, and now is the time to collect the seed pods. To learn more about how to do this, log on to: https://www.franklinswcd.org/milkweed.
Some precautions can also be found at: https://monarchwatch.org/bring-back-the-monarchs/milkweed/harvesting-milkweed/
Follow Monarch butterfly migration at:
Featured Teacher: Cynthia Walters, Olentangy Local Schools; Ohio
Name: Cynthia Walters
School: Olentangy Local Schools
Educational Position: Teacher
How long have you been engaged in school gardening? Almost fifteen years.
How did you get started? Most of my life, I have tried to eat real food and avoid processed foods because I know the benefits of eating healthy compared to the harmful effects of unhealthy ingredients. In the beginning of my teaching career my classroom was located across from the school cafeteria where I could observe (and hear), first-hand, how the lunchroom operated and what foods were available to students. After several years of teaching and completing hundreds of hours of the dreaded “lunch duty,” I had a clear picture of what was available for students to select from the serving line, what they chose, and what they actually ate based on the amount of time they had to eat. Furthermore, the noise level was deafening, behavior was a problem, and students threw away a lot of food and trash. It has been a long journey, but I have spent the last fifteen years trying to improve school meals through school-garden programs, district wellness initiatives, and school food policy. I have seen change and I am encouraged about the future.
What was the most memorable moment you had teaching your students in the garden? I have a clear image in my mind the day we broke ground for the greenhouse which was going to be located in the middle of the school garden. Students, in hard hats, teachers, administrators, and the Superintendent were all present for the ground-breaking. A few students were given shovels and on cue, dug into the soil receiving cheers from the crowd. This represented a great opportunity where all members of the school community came together to celebrate a place to plant, grow, harvest, and eat real food.
Why is school gardening an important educational tool for teachers? School gardens provide meaningful experiential learning for all students. School Garden programs can break down learning barriers by teaching students real-life skills while also addressing state learning standards. By empowering students to eat nutritional foods, they will be more likely to make healthy choices to fuel their minds for learning.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a school garden? I recommend “starting small” when initiating a school garden; quality is always better than quantity. Perhaps, start seedlings inside the classroom during the first year. A school garden program should not require a lot of additional time outside of the typical teaching day. By replacing garden activities with what was once done through textbooks and by making it a part of the curriculum, then a program will become successful. After the first year, seek help for continuing the program before embarking upon a garden bed outside. Even then, start with one garden bed and gradually build-on based on what you can handle. The litmus test is, “if the students can’t help you build and develop the program, then it will be too much work.”
How are you planning for long term sustainability of the garden once you retire or take on another position? Once you start a program, also include an exit plan. After taking on school-garden leadership roles, I began transitioning the school garden space over to another group. We also put together a written agreement to ensure the garden would continue to serve students and be maintained.
Join a Franklin County 4-H Club or Become a Volunteer
4-H Project Green Teacher
4-H Project Green Teacher is an informational newsletter and series for educators and others that focuses on school/educational gardening. It is brought to you by 4-H personnel who work for Ohio State University Extension in Franklin County, Ohio, a part of the College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).
CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information, visit cfaesdiversity.osu.edu For an accessible format of publication, visit cfaes.osu.edu/accessibility.
Unless otherwise noted, stock images are from Pixabay.com. Background photograph of Monarch butterfly by Sue Hogan.
Email: hogan.239@osu.edu
Website: franklin.osu.edu
Location: 530 West Spring Street, Columbus, OH, USA
Phone: 614-292-7746
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectgreenteacher/