Garden-based learning encompasses programs, activities and projects in which the garden is the foundation for integrated learning, in and across disciplines, through active, engaging real-world experiences that have personal meaning for children, youth, adults and communities.

Garden-based learning is essentially an instructional strategy that utilizes the garden as a teaching tool. The practice of garden-based learning is a growing global phenomenon. In some settings it is the educational curriculum and in others it supports or enriches the curriculum. Nevertheless, garden-based learning has been viewed as contributing to all aspects of basic education, including academic skills, personal development, social development, moral development, vocational and/or subsistence skills, and life skills.

Benefits of garden-based learning among children and youth

Landscape designers, teachers, and others consider children’s gardens to be one of the most notable positive trends in the nation today. These environments can foster science literacy

Scientific literacy

Scientific literacy encompasses written, numerical, and digital literacy as they pertain to understanding science, its methodology, observations, and theories.-Definition:...

and social skills, while enhancing an awareness of the link between plants in the landscape and our clothing, food, shelter, and well-being. Gardening projects provide children and youth with the carefree exploration of the natural world that occurs rarely in today's era of indoor living; it can also give young people the chance to develop a wide range of academic and social skills. Noted benefits of garden-based learning programs among youth include increased nutrition awareness, environmental awareness, higher learning achievements, and increased life skills http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl/groundwork/researchsupports.html.
Increased nutrition awareness
Research indicates that youth who participate in garden-based learning programs have increased their consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, and gained new enthusiasm for fresh, nutritious vegetables they grew. Teachers also regarded the garden to be very effective at enhancing academic performance, physical activity, language arts, and healthful eating habits.


Increased environmental awareness
Research highlights that high school students gain more positive attitudes about environmental issues after participating in a school garden program. Gardening has also been shown to increase scores on environmental attitude surveys of elementary school children.

Higher Learning Achievements
Studies indicate that students that participated in school gardening activities scored significantly higher on science achievement tests compared to students that did not experience any garden-based learning activities. Other research has indicated that weekly use of gardening activities and hands-on classroom activities help improve science achievement test scores.


Increased Life Skills
Research has highlighted the increased life skills attributed to children's garden programs: enhances moral education, increases appreciation for nature, increases responsibility, develops patience, increases in relationship skill, increases self-esteem, helps students develop a sense of ownership and responsibility, and helps foster relationships with family members.

Keys to successful garden-based learning programs

Research has indicated that successful garden-based learning programs demonstrate high levels of youth development and leadership, community development and involvement, and participatory evaluation as a regular program feature. Programs are considered to be more successful when children and youth are involved in the entire process of the school gardening program (planning, design, implementation, and evaluation).

8 unique features of garden-based learning programs that develop positive qualities in youth:http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl/groundwork/index.html

1. The program has a positive focus
2. Youth are viewed not as “objects” but as “resources,” and have a voice in program planning, development, implementation
3. There is an emphasis on proactive behavior
4. Participants "own" responsibility for their own behavior
5. The program is inclusive ("involves everyone")
6. The program builds a vision
7. Cooperation is emphasized
8. "Hope" is a norm in the program environment or atmosphere

Core uses for garden-based learning in basic educationhttp://www.ahs.org/youth_gardening/pdf/040909_Revisiting_%20garden_basic_education.pdf

Academic Skills

• To support core academic training, particularly in science and math – real world hands on experiences
• Enrichment of core curriculum in language arts through introduction of new learning landscapes
• To support standards based education in countries with national or regional education standards

Personal Development (Mental & Physical)

• To add a sense of excitement, adventure, emotional impact and aesthetic appreciation to learning
• To improve nutrition, diet and health
• To teach the art and science of cooking with fresh products from the garden or local farms
• To re-establish the celebratory nature of a shared meal

Social & Moral Development

• To teach sustainable development
• To teach ecological literacy and/or environmental education
• To teach the joy and dignity of work
• To teach respect for public and private property

Vocational and/or Subsistence Skills

• To teach basic skills and vocational competencies
• To produce food and other commodities for subsistence consumption and trade

Life Skills

• To teach about food and fiber production
• To engage children in community service and environmental care
• To involve students in lessons of leadership and decision making

Core uses for garden-based learning beyond basic educationhttp://www.ahs.org/youth_gardening/pdf/040909_Revisiting_%20garden_basic_education.pdf

Community Development

• Gardens often serve as a focal point for community dialogue, capacity building, and partnerships
• Gardens often organize individuals for action – for water delivery, cooperatives, and transportation

Food Security

• Gardens can address hunger at the individual, family, and community levels through planning, growing, and sharing
• Gardens can be the beginning point for teaching and developing food policy

Sustainable Development

• Gardens are an appropriate arena to introduce children to the interconnections that link nature to economic systems and society

Vocational Education

• Gardens represent a historic and contemporary model for developing vocational skills in agriculture, natural resource management, and science

School Grounds Greening

• Gardens provides practical productive strategies to transform sterile school grounds into attractive and productive learning centers
• Hands-on activities in outdoor classrooms make learning more interesting while demonstrating other benefits such as decreased absenteeism and discipline problems

Garden-based learning organizations

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl/ Cornell Garden-Based Learning Institute - Based in the Department of Horticulture at Cornell University. Provides free, online activities, projects, publications, and other educational materials related to gardening with youth.Also provides specific gardening content and positive youth development-oriented support for educational programs.



http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/gardenmosaics/ Garden Mosaics – This Cornell Department of Natural Resources program connects youth and elders to investigate the mosaic of plants, people, and cultures in gardens, to learn about science, and to act together to enhance their community.



http://www.csgn.org/ California School Garden Network – This school gardening network site includes extensive curriculum materials and other program support tools such as the Gardens for Learning publication.



http://www.ahs.org/youth_gardening/plant_based_education.htm Partnership for Plant-based Education (PPBE) - The PPBE is a coalition of national organizations devoted to promoting the use of plants as an important element of children's educational programs.



http://www.burlingtongardens.org/Friends of Burlington Gardens - Friends of Burlington Gardens works to create a local food system where Vermonters of all ages experience the benefits of community gardening and become healthier through improved diets, exercise, and positive social interactions.



http://www.tworiverscenter.org/ Food Works at Two Rivers Center – Foods Works is emerging as central Vermont's hands-on food and agricultural education center working to strengthen local food systems and empower children, families, and seniors to grow, prepare, eat and preserve their own foods.



http://www.lifelab.org/ LifeLab - The Life Lab Science Program aims to inspire learning and conservation by engaging students and educators in the natural world. It supports science and garden-based education through publications, professional development, and innovative programs.



http://www.garden.org/home National Gardening Association – The National Gardening Association (NGA) promotes home, school, and community gardening as a means to renew and sustain the essential connections between people, plants, and the environment. Their kids gardening site http://www.kidsgardening.com/ is very comprehensive.



http://www.ahs.org/ The American Horticultural Society – AHS is one of the oldest national gardening organizations in the country. At AHS you’ll get connected -- to great gardens around the world, gardening education for all levels of skill, sources of information on any garden subject imaginable, a community of gardeners eager to share their experiences, other great gardening events and activities, and much, much more.



http://www.foodlandandpeople.org/ Food, Land & People - a nonprofit organization committed to helping people of all ages better understand the interrelationships among agriculture, the environment, and people of the world. Food, Land & People's science- and social sciences-based curriculum, Resources for Learning, currently serves Pre-K to 12th grade students throughout the United States.



http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicgardening/schools.phpGarden Organic - A UK-based charity that supports gardening initiatives
in schools.



http://www.collectiveroots.orgCollective Roots - A nonprofit organization providing school and community based garden based learning and food system programs in Silicon Valley, California.

Further reading

(1) Eames-Sheavly, M.(1999). Sowing the Seeds of Success- This 28-page booklet details the organizational steps needed to initiate a gardening project that involves kids and the community, and to ensure program success over the long term. Key chapters highlight how to define roles and responsibilities, form and manage partnerships, create an identity, raise funds, and more http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl/pubs/sowingseeds.pdf.


(2) Eames-Sheavly, M.(2000). The Three Sisters: Exploring an Iroquois Garden - Gain a better view of Native American culture. Exploring the foods, customs, and stories that evolved from the planting of corn, beans, and squash--the Three Sisters--will help you understand the values that surround these crops. Includes legends, the call for diversity, uses of the Three Sisters, and planting facts. Adults will enjoy reading this as well as using it with youth http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl/pubs/index.html.


(3) Center for Ecoliteracy & Life Lab Science Program. Getting Started: A Guide for Creating School Gardens as Outdoor Classrooms. To order this publication, write to Life Lab Science Program or Center for Ecoliteracy http://www.ecoliteracy.org/publications/getting-started.html .


(4) Kemple, M. and J. Keifer. (1998). Digging Deeper: Integrating Youth Gardens into Schools and Communities. Canada: Foodworks.


(5) Patten, E. and K. Lyons. (2003).Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils: A Hands-On Resource for Teachers


(6) Life Lab Science Program. The Growing Classroom: Garden-Based Sciencehttp://www.gardeningwithkids.org/11-4017.html.