growing gardeners

In this school garden, children can sink their hands in the soil and watch tiny seeds turn into miracles.

It's a hot summer day in South Carolina, and school's out. The playground is perfectly quiet, and the swings hang motionless. The only sign of life is the gardener who's planting, watering, and weeding. Billie Elsley is getting her classroom ready for the children who will soon be arriving for a new school year. This volunteer gardener doesn't receive any money for her efforts. She's rewarded with funny questions, large smiles, and wide-eyed students who are eager to learn, listen, and watch plants grow.

After summer vacation, the children attending Oakland Elementary School in Greenwood, South Carolina, walk behind their school and see a well-tended garden. Sunflowers, 10-feet tall, tower over the students. The heavy, seed-covered heads flop over and gaze down. The many rectangular beds filled with lush foliage and bright blooms create quiltlike patterns. A fence surrounding the garden is bedecked in showy vines including morning glory, cardinal climber, and purple hyacinth bean.

A Hard Row To Hoe

This garden didn't just magically appear. Over the last four years, Billie has worked the small piece of rocky ground and turned it into a living classroom. She got the idea when she heard a lecture about "Roots & Shoots," an intergenerational program encouraging adults to interact with children, using a garden to teach them about science, math, language, and art. Billie loved the idea and proposed it to the principal of Oakland Elementary School, who said, "Let's do it." Billie uses a Roots & Shoots handbook to help her come up with fun learning ideas. She started with poor soil, a tight budget, and a few dedicated volunteers and ended up with a beautiful garden.

Cultivating Community

Though Billie takes little credit, she has put in countless hours and called on many local companies asking for lumber, bricks, plants, and other things to enhance the garden. Occasionally, volunteers help out and a garden club contributes monetarily, but Billie is the driving force. She says she does it all for the children, whose enthusiasm keeps her going.

The garden isn't a playground where kids run around unattended. As they enter through a gated arbor, they're reminded to use their garden manners. They walk into the living laboratory to learn about and appreciate the natural world. This outdoor room features many garden themes, and there's always an assignment or a project to complete.

Plants With a Purpose

The key to the garden's success lies in getting the kids to use their restless hands and have fun. Most of the children are gardening for the first time. They're never bored, but sometimes bumblebees, butterflies, and hummingbirds dancing around the many colorful flowers distract them. This is just another chance to learn while experiencing the wonders of nature.

The students study recycling, and their compost bin allows them to see organic matter turn into rich soil. Each year, the city delivers a large truckload of leaf mold, and the students spread it in the raised beds. They talk about water conservation and collect rainwater for their plants. They also learn about nutrition. The children enjoy a salad party and eat the lettuce they've grown from seed.

This outdoor classroom is small, but it teaches many valuable lessons. Billie says that after her years of enriching the soil, it is finally starting to become fertile. Her hard work also enriches the students. The children are like small seedlings, and dedicated teachers show them how to grow strong and flourish in this school garden.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Aug 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved