Growing a School Garden the Golden Hill Learning Center Experience

Jo Anne Judge-Dietz, Olmsted County Public Health

Gordy Ziebart, Golden Hill Principal

Caleb Langworthy, Garden Manager

Golden Hill Students

Agenda

• Background on school gardens

• Cross-curricular garden program at Golden Hill

• Student views

Learning Objectives

At the end of the session the learner will be able to describe:

• Rationale for a school garden program

• Cross curricular uses for a school garden

• Helpful partnerships for successful school garden

• Impact on youth

Funding PartnerSHIP Background

– Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP)

Funding for local public health to partner with schools, community, worksites and health care providers to implement strategies to prevent chronic disease

• Long Term Goals

Reduce health care costs by reducing overweight and obesity through better nutrition and increased physical activity

• Short Term Goals

– Implement Farm to School Programs

– Improve nutritional content of snacks, ala cart and vending at schools

– Establish school gardens

– Build partnerships for local food sourcing

Partnerships • School District Support

– Leadership

– Student Nutrition Services

• Site-based school support – Principal, Wellness committees, Parent Teacher

Organizations, Science, Ag, FACS, Business, Art teachers, cafeteria staff, PE teacher

• Community support – Parents, neighbors, farmers, local growers,

Master Gardeners, horticulture and garden businesses, health professionals

The benefits of school gardens

–Health and wellness

–Environmental impact

–Art and beauty

–Educational opportunities

–Youth development

Why school gardens?

Rationale for Gardens • One-third of US children are obese or overweight 1

• Fewer than 10% of children (age 4 to 13 years) meet MyPyramid recommendations for daily servings of fruits and vegetables.2

• In adolescents nationwide, 13.8% of students surveyed had eaten vegetables three or more times per day 3

• Eating more fruits and vegetables, can be an important part of a weight management strategy.4

• Up to 10 exposures to new foods are often required to increase acceptance.5

• Several studies have demonstrated that children participating in garden-based nutrition education programs increase fruit and vegetable intake, willingness to taste and preference for fruits and vegetables.6

1. Hedley AA Prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children, adolescents and adults JAMA 2004 291:2847-50 2. Guenther PM, Dodd KW, Reedy J, Krebs-Smith SM. Most Americans eat much less than recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. Am Diet Assoc. 2006;106:1371-1379. 3. 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survellience Survey , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 4. CDC “Can eating fruits and vegetables help people to manage their weight?” 5. Birch LL, et al. What kind of exposure reduces children’s food neophobia? Looking vs. tasting. Appetite.1987;9:171-178. 6. Lautenschlager L, et al. Understanding gardening and dietaryhabits among youth garden program participants using the theory of planned behavior. Appetite. 2007;49:122-130. McAleese JD, et al. Garden-based nutrition education affects fruit and vegetable consumption in sixth-grade adolescents. J AmDiet Assoc. 2007;107:662-665. Hermann JR, et al. After-school gardening improves children’s reported vegetablei ntake and physical activity. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2006;38:201-202. Morris JL, et al. First-grade gardeners more likely to taste vegetables. Cal Ag. 2001;55:43-46. Lautenschlager, et al, knowledge, and values heldby inner-city youth about gardening, nutrition, and cooking. AgrHuman Values. 2007;4:245-258.

Additional Research

School Gardens as a Strategy for Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Oxenham, and King, Journal of Child Nutrition & Management : School Nutrition Association. 2010 Spring, v. 34, issue 1

Using Nature and Outdoor Activity to Improve Children's Health McCurdy, et al , Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care. 2010 Jul;40(6):152

Growing Environmental Stewards: The Overall Effect of a School Gardening Program

Aguilar, Waliczek and Zajicek , Texas A&M University Study 2008

Nutrition to Grow On: A garden-enhanced nutrition education curriculum for upper-elementary school children Morris et al, J of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2002

First-grade Gardeners More Likely to Taste Vegetables Morris, et al, California Agriculture, January-February 2001.

Garden-enhanced Nutrition Curriculum Improves Fourth-grade School Children’s Knowledge of Nutrition and Preferences for Some Vegetables

Morris et al, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2002

Local Youth Risk Behavior Survey Percentage of students who ate fruits and vegetables

five or more times per day (recommended daily intake) during the past seven days

Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted 2007 and 2009 Rochester Public School District.

Results compiled by Centers for Disease Control. Data used with permission.

Health and Wellness Grow

Prepare

Taste

Learn Access

Youth development and engagement

Opportunities for success

Opportunities for mentoring

Access to healthy food

Garden Produce from school gardens in 2011

• Beets • Broccoli • Cabbage • Cantaloupe • Carrots • Cauliflower • Cucumbers • Fresh herbs • Kale • Kohlrabi

• Lettuce and salad greens

• Onions • Peas • Peppers • Potatoes • Pumpkins • Radishes • Strawberries • String beans

• Squash

• Sweet corn

• Swiss chard

• Tomatoes

• Cherry tomatoes

• Watermelon

• Zucchini

Coming soon: apples, pears, grapes, blueberries, raspberries

Cross curricular learning activities • Family and Consumer Science:

– Food preparation – Cooking – Preserving

• Health – Nutrition – Active living

• Science – Biology – Plant life, water cycle – Reproduction

• Math – Plot calculations – Costs, sales, profits

• Agri-Business – Planning – Buying selling – Promoting product

• English – Composition – Poetry – Journaling

• Art – Site beautification – Photography – Creations from the garden

• Industrial Arts – Building structures for the

garden

Art from the Garden

Inspiration from the garden

Multi impact = greater support

Physical activity station

Nature’s mental health center

Curiosity courtyard

Determine a focus for the garden

• What is the goal of your school garden

–Health and wellness

• Food access vs. new food experiences

–Education, science and environment

–Art and beauty

–Youth Development

Who’s at the table

Partnerships

• Build in sustainability with a strong committee

• Build on collaborative relationships

• Regularly review who is at the table, missing from the table

• Recognize the motivation for each member to be involved

• Involve kids early and often

What will make the garden experience have a lasting impact?

For students: • Learning from teachable moments • Fun • Results from meaningful work, WIIFM • Pride • Building relationships For the school: • Connections, relationships • Incorporating policy, system and

environmental change

“Many things grow in the garden

that were never sown there.”

Thomas Fuller, 1732

Jo Anne Judge-Dietz

Olmsted County Public Health

judge-dietz.joanne@co.olmsted.mn.us

507-328-7452