My 8th graders complain about the type of food that is served from the cafeteria in our Breakfast in the Classroom program. I said, "What if we grew our own breakfast? What would could we eat?" Instantly, a project was born and students were engaged!
Students collaborated and researched the types of fruits and vegetables that they could potentially grow at a school site with limited access to water, but that will be provide the necessary nutrition that will sustain them...at least until lunch time. They looked at types of window boxes and amount of sun needed, etc., on a limited budget as well. Once we had that information and shared in around our conference table, the real work began. So far, students have planted strawberries, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cucumber, and kale. They even have a lime tree, and a grape vine! The next step is to care for the plants until harvest, all the while looking for recipes that students can easily prepare. The ultimate goal is to create food oases around our campus that provide healthy snacks for our school community! Meanwhile, we have to identify and (possibly) design a way to collect water so that our oases remain sustainable. We're looking for ways to collect rainwater and to bring water to our gardens that will follow our school's and school district's guidelines, so that this project will prove to be a beneficial one to the entire student population.
