Pass on the Gift of the Garden
In our Little Green Thumbs charter of Plant, Grow, Eat, Share, we want students to SHARE their gift of the garden! Through the program, students understand their responsibility as stewards of their garden, their environment and their community. We ask all Little Green Thumbs to pay it forward through passing on the gifts of the program to others, out of gratitude for receiving the gift themselves!
Passing on the gift of the garden can be a great opportunity for imagination and generosity. When students pass on the fruits of their garden, or their time and knowledge gained, the act can produce a profound sense of accomplishment.
We’ve compiled a few simple ways that your students can share the gift of their garden!
What else might students pass on from the garden? Did you save seeds that you can gift, can you pass along extra seedlings to a community garden or write a letter of thanks to a helper or garden mentor? Have students brainstorm their ideas for passing on the gift!
Pass on extra produce to a local food bank
It is a common misconception that local food bank will not accept fresh produce! Call ahead to your local food bank to find out how you can drop off some of your veggie surplus. This is a great opportunity to talk about hunger and food security with your students. Food security can be a tough discussion for teachers and students, so check out our 8 Ways to Talk about Hunger.
Plan a plant part food drive
You can take your donation one step further and plan a Plant Part Food Drive! This idea is inspired by Junior Master Gardeners. Have students advertise and collect cans from parents and teachers for a school food drive. Afterwards, have students categorize each can received by each part of the plant (roots, stems, leaves, flower, fruit, and seeds). The plant parts food drive is a fun way to learn more about the foods we eat, where they come from, and how we can help others.
Pass on extra vermi-compost worms
One thing your vermi-composting worms can be counted on to do, in addition to composting your veggie scraps, is REPRODUCE! At the end of the year, you will have plenty of worms, which you can harvest to start a brand-new worm bin. Who could be the lucky recipient of your new worm bin? Could the students write up some instructions to help them, or plan a short ‘how-to’ lesson for the new worm-bin owners, demonstrating what they have learned?
Invite other students and family to a harvest celebration
‘Salad-brations’ are a pillar of Little Green Thumbs classroom, as an opportunity to taste and celebrate a successful growing season with other classrooms and student’s family. This could be an opportunity for students to share their knowledge with parents or prepare a garden song to sing. Find some inspiration for garden rhymes and songs at CanTeach.
Prepare a special presentation to another class or the school
Sharing the knowledge students have gained from their garden can be an empowering experience. Have students prepare a short presentation for their school or another class about what they have learned. Perhaps they could present about the steps they took to grow a garden, the surprises they discovered or cool facts they learned about plants!
What else might students pass on from the garden? Did you save seeds that you can give, can you pass along extra seedlings to a community garden or write a letter of thanks? Have students brainstorm their ideas for passing on the gift!
