Gardens provide real life examples and experiences that stimulate learning for students who may struggle in a conventional classroom environment.
Garden activities can be adapted for various skill levels and allow children to connect with nature and work together towards a common goal.
Students can show off their garden produce and receive praise and recognition from the school community, increasing their confidence and sense of self-worth.
Case studies
After just one year of their 2-year Food Gardens in Schools Grant the 17 students of Mount Druitt Tutorial Centre have improved their self-confidence and leadership skills, and their willingness to make healthier eating choices.
The Tutorial Centre caters for students in Years 9–12 with behavioural issues. One of the biggest changes that the teachers have observed has been the improvement in the students’ self-confidence. Students have learned a range of new practical skills and the project has allowed them to demonstrate expertise in various garden subjects. The construction of the 3 garden beds allowed some students to demonstrate leadership skills by taking charge and making sure that activities were completed properly.
Students have been responsible for researching and devising planting schedules, have been involved in contacting suppliers and organising quotes, and have made valuable contributions to the design and construction of the garden beds. They have planted vegetables including spinach, lettuces, heirloom carrots, heirloom beetroot, silverbeet, chard, potatoes, peas, parsnip, cauliflower, celery and various herbs.
The vegetables are used in weekly cooking lessons and the students are currently compiling a recipe book of meals they have prepared from the garden. Before the project commenced, many of the centre’s students were eating a lot of packaged foods and takeaways and were unable to identify common vegetables. Now most of the students are regularly taking fresh produce home with them and are more open to trying new foods and vegetables.
For the teachers, the project has presented some significant professional development opportunities. Staff used their professional development days to work with the Agriculture teacher to develop their gardening skills and knowledge, and to learn how to incorporate practical experiences in the garden into more creative teaching programs. For some it was not immediately clear how a garden could be used to teach skills across all the key learning areas, but as the project progressed, staff learned how to use it to create authentic learning experiences. Group planning sessions were held during staff meetings, and all staff are now much more confident in their ability to guide student learning outside of the classroom.
One of the main aims of this project has been to educate students about growing food and preparing healthy meals, with the hope that they will then share their knowledge and skills with their families and encourage better eating habits at home. We are well on our way to achieving this aim, with at least 6 students and 4 staff interested in starting a food garden at home as a result of their experience with the project.
One of the most beneficial outcomes of the project to date is that it gave ample opportunity for authentic and cooperative learning and allowed students who struggle in classroom contexts to shine and experience real success.
— Brigitte Herrmann, Mount Druitt Tutorial Centre
Top Tip
Food gardens provide a great opportunity for teachers to introduce some creative programming into their lessons. Use professional development days to support teachers in converting textbook learning into hands-on activities.
Minerva School has created an outdoor learning resource that allows students to explore the environment through sensory stimulation. The garden takes students on a journey of colour, sound, touch, taste and smell, and enhances the student’s knowledge of environmental sustainability.
The sensory garden is designed to cater for the wide range of abilities, and provides students with an alternative educational setting. The garden includes a variety of natives, edible and sensory plant species, pebbles, bark, grasses, and manmade components such as water features, wind chimes, mirrors, pin wheels, and artworks.
The sensory garden has been incorporated into the curriculum, with units of work developed for key learning areas including English, Mathematics, Geography, Science, Music, and Creative and Visual Arts. Curriculum-based learning opportunities allow students to engage with their environment through hands-on experiences such as recycling, composting and water saving initiatives. Examples of learning activities that the garden facilitates are:
- identifying what food groups exist in our garden, and where are these foods located on the food pyramid
- identifying plants that taste and smell good, such as mint, rosemary, curry, and plants with different textures such lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina) and stringy grasses
- finding and identifying insects and birds
- comparing natural environments with manmade environments
- navigation activities using a compass, counting steps and following a map.
The sensory garden has been designed to have therapeutic value across all the senses, and provides an area of calm for students needing time out. Students are encouraged to use it as a resource for managing their behaviour. This diagram illustrates the therapeutic values.
The project was supported by the Parents and Citizens’ Association, local suppliers and community groups.
The sensory garden has become a valued learning space within the school. It has been designed to have therapeutic value across all the senses. The sensory garden also provides a real-life context for learning in which both the theory and practice of growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing produce are interwoven.
— Travis Baird, Relieving Principal
Top Tip
When planning your sensory garden, consider elements that will provide maximum sensory stimulation. Pay attention to the texture and smell of a plant: how it feels and smells is just as important as its shape and colour.
When the Special Education Unit at Wauchope High applied for a Food Gardens in Schools Grant in 2012 it envisaged a project that would bring the entire school community closer together and create an outdoor space that all students, regardless of their abilities, could participate in and enjoy for many years.
Now halfway through its 2012 grant, the unit has designed and built a wheelchair-accessible garden that caters for students with special needs such as autism, intellectual disability and behavioural issues. The first harvest occurred in April 2013 and the 24 special-needs students are loving spending time in the garden. Mainstream students from Years 7 and 8 have been involved in construction activities and the school’s drama students are taking advantage of the garden as a performance space.
The project has required the students to work together as a team, planning the design, building the garden beds, recycling, painting, planting and maintaining the gardens. Along the way they have developed their skills in measurement, design, sketching, social cooperation, behaviour and communication. For the five teachers of the Special Education Unit, the project has provided the opportunity to gain practical and educational skills and knowledge about the environment.
A chicken pen has been established in the garden with chickens that were hatched and hand-raised by the students. The students had a long 21-day wait and were excited when 7 of the 11 eggs eventually hatched. As part of their learning program an excursion was conducted to a local organic farm that produces milk and eggs. Here the students learnt about organic farming methods and how to raise happy and healthy chickens.
The food garden has quickly become an important focal point of the school and it is not unusual to see up to 60 kids working or passively enjoying the garden at lunchtime. The project is allowing special-needs students to interact with mainstream agriculture and science classes, and has created a space where all students can share in the experience of growing their own healthy and nutritious food.
For children with anxiety and mental health issues we found the garden to be a very calming environment. Children with autism and Down syndrome are learning about responsibility and all the children are learning to work together as a team.
— Scott Spurway, Wauchope High School SSEU
Top Tip
Garden activities for children with special needs will often need to be tailored to the individual capabilities of each child. The physical nature of gardening develops fine and gross motor skills and especially engages students who have trouble sitting still and concentrating in a traditional classroom setting.