Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Aliciá Ayala
Professor Quinn
UWP1Y
Introduction
here in Yolo County. Recently, my participation as an intern for Yolo Farm to Fork
learning the meaning of gardening in that respective area. To many, like myself,
who primarily have lived in city suburbs or bustling environments, gardens are a
symbol for leisure and retirement. The gardens I have known are filled with
provide aesthetics for the community and to showcase nature which may not be
common to the area. However, in this community I have found that gardens serve
as a gateway for children. Not all children have been exposed to gardens in their
lives thus the school garden may also serve as an enrichment activity to broaden
their awareness of different activities that take place in nature. The hands-on
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 2
setting that a school garden provides allows the children to clearly see how food is
grown to provide the food on our tables. Yolo Farm to Fork provides the resources
and educators for the elementary schools who wish to engage their students in
school gardening.
Lunch after school garden activities for children at Beamer Elementary School.
Yolo Farm to Fork is committed to the school garden because “edible school
gardens provide not only healthy outdoor exercise, but also develop kids’ taste for
(Unknown, 2018). Yolo Farm to Fork believes that school gardens will make a
Elementary point of view in comparison to this. I would also like to learn about
student interactions I hope to understand why school gardens are important for this
community and how I can adjust my behaviors in order to best encourage students
Literature Review
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 3
which focuses heavily on outdoor play and outdoor experiences for preschoolers
and toddlers. Every week we discuss the developmental benefits of spending time
children ages seven to ten, the children are still growing and learning about
themselves and how the world works around them. Through my first-year seminar,
and nutrition faculty of Keene State College. In this article, they discuss potential
benefits for preschoolers when they are allowed in school gardens, and provide
children to become comfortable and familiar with its taste and texture. When
children have repeated opportunities to taste a new food, they often change their
find that this data will be important for when the children at my elementary school
begin to taste the vegetables they planted. Many children have concrete likes and
radishes which are often grown at the schools. Although data shows young
and first-hand experience to verify that this is possible with children of a slightly
older age. If it is possible then school gardens have the potential to expand the taste
palettes of children.
children in Kindergarten all the way to twelfth grade who participated in school
education classes differ from hands on gardening. Nutrition education has the goal
that are healthy. The analysis did not find statistical significance of increasing
Langellotto, 2012). The study explained that children in gardening programs also
susceptible to attitude changes by showing that even when children grow older
they can still experience positive attitude changes when going through a school
gardening experience.
School gardening also has the potential to improve social learning through
reminds readers that children’s interactions with the outdoors are a diminishing
part of growing up. This decline in outdoor activity is not just an American
problem, but it is also present in places like Finland. In a research paper conducted
in Finland called Garden affordances for social learning, play, and for building
Their data shows that gardening taught: “… manners [on] how to behave and
regard other people, … [how] to build friendships and affections, confidence and
children in the gardening program at Beamer should improve their social skills
curriculum. California curriculum has created a guide that “… bridges the distance
between the garden experience and the standards by linking specific lessons to
specific standards for grades two through six” (Agee, Bruton, Tanner, 2002). The
utilize the garden as an outdoor classroom for math, history, science, and English.
[who] grow vegetables and then harvest, prepare, and eat the vegetables” (Agee,
Bruton, Tanner, 2002). This is how Beamer Elementary utilizes their garden and is
a common practice for students. The guide for teachers goes on to list the
outdoors, benefits for students who may struggle in school, benefits for education
both regulated and developmental, and community pride that is sure to ensue. The
guide attempts to alleviate potential stress of teachers who do not believe they can
material for the outdoor classroom. Since this guide was written in 2002, it will be
interesting to explore if schools like Beamer Elementary still integrate their core
When state curriculum is not integrated into the school garden it can still
provide benefits for learning. A commonly cited research paper, The Child in the
children learning how to remove weeds from a sturdy plot of soil to pulling up
worms and analyzing animal movements. The data used in this research paper
often consisted of third to sixth graders which roughly covers the age group in
which I am exposed to. This study also brought up the unspoken idea that:
“Teachers are the mainstay of school gardening” (Blair, 2009). The attitude which
teachers put forth will reflect in the children’s learning and behavior improvement.
Teachers may not be horticulturists, but without guided conversations and strong
eating” and “school gardening” mean when I reference them. For this specific
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 8
vegetables, fruits, and fresh food into their lifestyle along with reducing the
amount of processed, frozen, or fast food. When looking at children and “healthy
eating” a child should be able to enjoy balanced meals that include vegetables
and/or fruits without objection. “School gardening”, in this study, means that there
are garden plots placed on school property which children can assist in maintaining
and interact with. The children should be able to see growth in the garden and be
allowed to walk through the garden. These terms will continue to be used
Methodology
Positionality
will have only spent 7 weeks involved at the elementary school. My goal is to
primary research and secondary articles which claim the intention of national farm
hundred percent Mexican, and this often leads to others seeing me as more
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 9
American than Mexican. I acquired the internship through Yolo Farm to Fork and
interact weekly with program coordinators. They direct my interactions with the
students since they are in charge of the garden programming, which includes
Participants
California. This school is a dual language immersion school; fifty percent of their
day is spent learning in Spanish the other half is spent learning in English. The
that I encounter are in second grade to fourth grade and are participants in an
afterschool program called ASES. The ASES program serves around 100 Beamer
Elementary school students after school every day. Children who participate in
school gardening tend to be between grades two to four. Every child who
participates has a free choice to attend and may leave when they want. Often, the
same children attend gardening programs routinely twice a week. The days of the
week vary due to scheduling with other activities hosted by ASES for the children.
The program coordinator is a large catalyst for the garden being rebooted for
children to learn and engage in. I will be interviewing her to learn more about her
intentions for the garden. Yolo Farm to Fork, a nonprofit organization, also works
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 10
with ASES to keep the garden growing. The program coordinator for the nonprofit
understand her view on the Growing lunch afterschool program and specifically
Data Collection
I interacted with the children twice a week and observed their attitudes in the
garden. I observed their behavior towards each other and attitude while inside the
garden to examine if the children benefit by spending time there. I will not
which was recorded through the Voice Memos app on my iPhone. I then
transcribed this interview into a Word document and summarized or directly pulled
quotes from the interview to provide data. The interview for the Yolo Farm to Fork
program coordinator was conducted through email. Her results will be directly
pulled from the written answers provided. The questions I will ask to each program
coordinator is as follows:
program?
What role do you believe the school garden has in students’ lives?
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 11
school garden?
How do you think school gardening will help children later in life?
What do you know about the national intentions for school gardens?
Findings:
gardening time with the students, and interviews with both program coordinators.
Observations
typically range from second to fourth grade which places their age at seven to ten
years old. The relationship between the students and I is that of a teacher. The
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 12
students who visit the garden often call me “Maestra”, which is Spanish for
creates a unique bond between the children and me when discussing personal
opinion and personal knowledge of activities we may be doing. The children tend
to ask more questions regarding assistance, how to, deciphering what something is,
and how the garden helps. Personal information about prior experience and
However, through observations I was able to judge the comfort levels and prior
Based purely off observation and interactions with the children, it appears
that a majority of the children involved with the school garden have been a part of
the program before or they have experience gardening with their family. When I
first began to work at the garden, children who visited the garden talked about how
their plants had grown very big or they remembered the last garden intern who
worked with them. When I taught children how to weed many of them described
times when they had done the same thing with parents and boasted of their skills.
Children who knew how to weed or plant were very eager to tell me stories of their
experiences. I would then ask the same children to assist their peers by teaching
fellow students how to do these tasks or physically assist them. In my first week of
gardening I had an interaction with a fourth grader who demonstrated his ability to
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 13
garden by actively participate in weeding. Vicente, the fourth grader, came into the
garden and as soon as he had been assigned to weeding he began to tackle the
with a tall pea plant and weeds; Vicente decided he would take on this project with
his partner. I remember asking him how he knew so much about weeds. He told me
that at home his father was a gardener and he had learned from him. I later asked
him to advise other students on which plants to pull out and the best techniques to
do so. Vicente was quick to accomplish this task by helping others pull out large
weeds or pointing out big weeds that they could pull out together. Through the
eyes of an instructor, I felt that he carried his head high when he would come show
me a big weed he had pulled out with the help of the other kids.
occurred when the students pulled out weeds. Early on in my internship we needed
to put labor into weeding every time the students came out to the garden. It was
very common for the second-grade students to pull out weeds then call out
something along the lines of: “Maestra! Look at what I pulled out!” Many times,
they persisted in calling out to me until I would look at them, acknowledge them,
praise them, and direct them to the compost bin. The younger students took great
pride in showing me the biggest weeds they could pull out without help from an
adult. This interaction between the students and I helped foster many of the
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 14
friendly bonds I created with the students at Beamer Park Elementary. All of the
previous observations reflect the research of Kaivola, Laaksoharju, and Rappe who
saw increased work ethics and confidence in the students who participated in
school gardens. These children would continue to work in the garden even when it
was hot and sunny reflecting a strong work ethic. Their confidence was shown
when they were able to assist others in garden activities and teach others how to
work.
As the school year began to wind down and the temperature increased, there
were less opportunities to work with groups of students in the school garden. The
students who did decide to work in the garden were now participating alone or in
small numbers out of their own choice during their free play. One particularly
interesting interaction I had was with a second-grader named Raj. Raj had visited
the garden often in the weeks I had been there for the internship. On this particular
visit, he was the only student to work in the garden with me. As we were pulling
out weeds from around the planter, he told me that he was “happy” to be out in the
garden. I asked him why and he told me that it makes him feel good and he likes to
help out. Raj then explained to me that he used to want to be a scientist when he
grew up, but now he wants to be a gardener. Raj described his future garden as a
huge garden that would hold many types of plants. This interaction relayed to me
that the school garden may be more impactful on students then surface level
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 15
appearances. Raj did not always act invested in the school garden but when
expressing his thoughts, he conveyed a much deeper level of meaning then I would
2014. Before she became the program coordinator she gained much of her
experience in the school garden through hands on interactions alongside Mrs. Carr,
the school garden’s original caretaker and teacher who led outside learning. She
showed Rosio the different parts of the gardens such as the compost, the irrigation
system, and the plots of the garden. Unfortunately, Mrs. Carr passed away when
Rosio became program coordinator. The garden had to be shifted from its original
position and this is what led Rosio to take charge of the garden. Rosio picked up
the skills of learning to plant and read seed packets through parents who often
engaged in garden and parents who were involved in the garden beautification
days. This left the school garden in the hands of the afterschool program. Tanya, a
past active garden parent, led Rosio in learning the skills necessary to keep a
garden maintained during the season. Tanya demonstrated to Rosio what plants are
best in which seasons and how she kept her garden growing. Rosio does not
believe there are many unusual or specific terms that comprise her school garden
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 16
garden discourse community that build up their identity kit. Rosio sees it as the
students feel what the instructor is projecting. When the garden is a priority for
Rosio, the students are motivated to be a part of the school garden. This is exactly
what author Blair would attest to because she observed that teachers were the
“mainstay” of the garden. When the garden is not on the top of Rosio’s list, such as
during the time of my internship, the students are not as motivated to make the trip
out to the school garden. The attitude one presents to the students can completely
alter how the students will want to interact with the school garden. This further
students.
The four years of experiences with students in the school garden has shown
Rosio what purpose the school garden serves for them. To Rosio the school garden
grade levels are allowed to interact without strict delegation from teachers. The
school garden is “just for students to be outdoors and to really get hands on.” Rosio
says that what she experiences differs from Yolo Farm to Fork because Yolo Farm
to Fork believes in “…giving the produce to the kitchen and the students would
relate to what they grow.” Instead, Rosio has more often seen students
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 17
In this way Rosio has seen the intentions of the school garden alter because of how
students perceive the garden. Rosio does not have any knowledge of what the
nation or California may perceive school gardening as. She does not know of any
goals that school gardening communities have set, but instead follows the
requirements of the grants for Yolo Farm to Fork. She only knows the
requirements for the grants because it provides her the money to upkeep the
garden. Rosio follows the direction of the students and engages with them by
preparing recipes that students can make together. Rosio saw that many students
did not make the connection between the school kitchen preparing the produce thus
she decided to begin cooking with groups of students who helped in the garden.
The recipes are made under Rosio’s supervision in the school kitchen with the
produce from the school garden. Rosio has heard from parents that students will
then take these recipes home and will become engaged in cooking to show what
skills they have learned. Although Rosio differs from Yolo Farm to Fork in the
way she utilizes the produce, she has still witnessed the cognitive benefits students
It has been studied that students who have trouble in indoor classrooms may
do better outdoors with less restraints. Rosio has experienced this when
“Last year there was a student who just could not focus in the classroom.
working out in the ranch’ his family lives at a ranch. It was in the fall season
The student went on to explain to Rosio that his grandfather had taught him about
the leaves and he explained to Rosio why the leaves fall and why the leaves
decompose. When Rosio realized that he was very confident in this activity she
asked him to help organize other students to clear the leaves. This allowed him to
delegate tasks and made it more enjoyable for the students to participate when they
saw their friend was excited about the activity. This reflects the study of Gupta and
Langellotto who also saw positive attitude and behavioral changes in students. In
Rosio’s case, the student was able to have a better behavior when outside then
when he was stuck indoors. However, Rosio does not see the social skill growth
that Gupta and Langellotto describe. Rosio expressed that children are still learning
the different social skills required for the school garden. Many of the students are
possessive of the produce or flowers in the garden which she tries to stray them
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 19
away from. She often has to remind students that it is a community space. For
example, “It’s your flower that you planted but it’s all of ours garden.” Rosio must
overcome the possessive habits to foster social skills for her students.
The interview conducted with Katrina from Yolo Farm to Fork was
different elementary schools, hiring and training interns, and ensuring that a school
garden has all the materials necessary to produce. Since Katrina is a Yolo Farm to
Fork employee, it can be assumed that more of her answers will try to best reflect
the Yolo Farm to Fork goal and/or policy. Katrina has been with Yolo Farm to
Fork for a few years. She first joined Yolo Farm to Fork as a volunteer. Her
has her own garden outside of Yolo Farm to Fork and is “… very passionate about
healthy eating.” Katrina’s passion for gardening most likely stems from her
father’s garden where her father grew most of the family’s food. However, a
school garden discourse community has not always been present in her life. Now
that Katrina has the ability to interact with the school garden discourse community
how the education system and local community can make a difference in
The sense of community and relating it back to the people we often interact with
seems like a shared perspective between Katrina and Rosio. Gupta and
participants of the garden. In this case, both can attest to seeing new friendships
form and closer bonds between the students. Katrina also believes that the attitude
“I would say support, passion, and determination are the most prominent
student awareness of the food they consume. Like Rosio, Katrina believes a garden
is a “… space for children to learn in that is outside, it also teaches the kids how to
grow their own food and where food comes from…” but Katrina has a curriculum
“They get to use the space to do produce art, science and math, while being
Her curriculum based belief may stem from Yolo Farm to Fork since Katrina does
not know about our nation’s goals for student gardens. Although, Yolo Farm to
Fork may derive it from the California Department of Education who originally
provided goals for integration. Interestingly, Katrina does know that school
gardens receive more support locally than they may receive nationally.
Conclusion
From the data I have collected, I believe that the school garden discourse
coordinator from the elementary school and a program coordinator for many
elementary schools. I have learned that the organization which funds elementary
school gardens believes in a curriculum based experience for students, but on the
WHY SCHOOL GARDENS? 22
ground level this is not always possible. However, both seem to believe in
and developmental benefits that research has provided. Both program coordinator
interviews show support in school gardens fostering new friendships and social
skills like the research above. These two pieces of data are important in forming
United States. From my data, I can see that not everyone teaches the same way in
the school garden and I wonder if this is because school garden discourse
community members have little communication with each other. I would also want
to further investigate how school gardens vary such as by school, region, or the
organization which helps to maintain them. As seen in my data, the attitude of both
program coordinators in school gardens is similar but the teaching material they
material for a school garden is chosen. The main questions that I wish to be
answered include: How can the school garden discourse community better
From what I have gathered, I have learned that the attitude I put forth when
working with students and leading activities will have a large impact on how the
exploration and learning, passion for the school garden, and help the students at
Beamer Elementary create ties between the food grown in the garden and the food
at home. I have also seen from both program coordinators that these school
gardens exist to provide a wider range of food and understanding for young
students. School gardens provide an opportunity for cultural expansion while at the
same time showing how a student can influence the way food is cooked at home. I
am interested in working with more school gardens to learn how they impact
References
Agee, J., Bruton, S., Tanner, P. (2002). A Child’s Garden of Standards. California
Department of Education.
Blair, D. (2009). The Child in the Garden: An Evaluative Review of the Benefits of
Education.
Duhn, I., Green Monica. (2015). The Force of Gardening: Investigating Children’s
Environmental Education.
Technology.
Rappe, E., & Kaivola, T., Laaksoharju, T. (2012). Garden affordances for social
learning, play, and for building nature–child relationship (2nd ed., Vol. 11).
Helsinki: Elsevier.
http://yolofarmtofork.org/why-edible-gardens/