NC students are growing vegetable gardens to feed those in need. To support their endeavor, library books are needed on gardening topics. We need to feed their minds as well as their bodies with good nutrition!
I am the library media specialist at a diverse humanities elementary school in Durham, NC. We recently received a small grant from Katie’s Krops to build gardens where we will grow vegetables to give to people in need in our community. To support this endeavor, I need to provide current books in our library collection that will help the students learn about gardening, sustainable living, vegetables, and how to cook the food they grow. I plan to create a special area in the library to highlight the gardening collection and give students and teachers the resources they need to make the gardening project successful. I also plan to collaborate with the gardening committee (comprised of parent volunteers) to reach out to classrooms and offer support in the way of book clubs, reading buddies, and cooking classes to use the books purchased from this grant in multiple ways. As a result of purchasing a gardening collection of books, I hope that students will become informed and knowledgeable about the gardens they will grow. With increasing demands on classroom teachers to cover an extensive amount of curriculum standards, I need to provide ways to integrate literacy into all projects. I believe providing books to support the gardening project will help teachers integrate literacy and give students the academic focus they need in combination with the hands-on experiences of tending the garden.
June 2012—Received grant from Katie’s Krops to build vegetable gardens at our school.
August 2012—Purchased materials to build beds.
September 2012—Garden Club committee will construct beds. Students in grades K-4 will plant seeds and maintain beds. They will research how to maintain the gardens as well as why growing and eating vegetables are important for their health. As crops begin to grow, students will harvest food to give to the local homeless shelter. Students will also keep a percentage of the vegetables to eat themselves.
Planting will occur in both the fall and the spring. The school will partner with local community members to maintain beds over summer vacation when students are not in school.
**Library books are needed as soon as possible to facilitate learning related to the garden project.
We are a Title I status school in NC, meaning that a high percentage of our student population come from homes of poverty. Unfortunately the most affordable food for these needy families is not fresh, healthy produce. They live in an urban area without a way to grow or sustain their own food and often times don’t have the experience necessary to do so. In conjunction with the experiential learning through gardening, students will also need resources to support their academic learning. Children are naturally curious and will develop questions as they learn and work in the gardens. We need to have enough books on a variety of levels for students to read. The purchase of gardening books for the library collection will support this learning for all students in the school. The books will be available for students, teachers, and families to check out in conjunction with this project.
