Sowing Seeds -
The Mira Vista Garden Program
Since 2001, the Mira Vista Elementary PTA has been an essential supporter of the Mira Vista Garden Program. Outdoor lessons take place in Mira Vista's "Upper Garden,” a living classroom which has grown to include 12 planter boxes, a greenhouse, a pollinator garden, an orchard of fruit trees and surrounding infrastructure accessible to all classrooms.
By transforming the hearts, minds, and eating habits of students through garden and nutrition activities, the Mira Vista Garden Program builds community resilience. Research shows that spending time in nature builds resilience and self-confidence in kids; reduces obesity and attention deficit disorder symptoms; improves focus, behavior and learning. Learning in the garden provides lessons about working as a team and eating well that will last a lifetime
Lesson themes and objectives interweave content from ecology, nutrition/health, and literacy, and every session includes the opportunity for students to grow, harvest, prepare and enjoy fresh foods from their school garden.
Our activities use the basic approach of cultivating students’ interest in the living world and developing their ability to shape it in positive ways, working with their peers and guided by the knowledge of caring adult mentors. The overwhelmingly consistent testimony of students, their classroom teachers, and their parents is that the school garden has an unparalleled ability to deepen childrens’ sense of meaningful connection -with peers, adults, and the world around them; at the heart of this lies the principle of self-directed learning, which is embedded in all of the program opportunities we provide for children.
In addition to during-school instruction, the Mira Vista Garden Program organizes outdoor hands-on stewardship activities as part of the school's after school enrichment schedule: every week throughout the school year, educators lead rotating groups of 12-15 students in hands-on projects, caring for the living world by greening their own school campus and learning how to cook delicious recipes from fresh foods. Typical activities include exploring garden ecosystems, developing areas of the garden, preparing delicious recipes with fresh ingredients, and planting/caring for fruit trees.
End-of-year surveys report that the stewardship projects undertaken with the older students promote social emotional awareness and behavioral health, help students focus better in class, and improve enthusiasm for learning and attitudes toward school. Experience and feedback has shown that as older students learn to take responsibility for ongoing maintenance of the garden, they bring these newfound skills and motivation back to the classroom, where teachers comment on their growing engagement and leadership skills.
Student gardeners are proud of their new competencies, taking home the organic produce that they’ve planted, and grown to feed their families. The school garden provides a unique setting for students to collaborate in a healthy environment, moving their bodies and igniting their minds.