Gardens and Grounds
“If we want children to flourish, we need to give them time to connect with nature and love the Earth before we ask them to save it .” David Sobel
It is now clear that time spent outdoors for learning during the school day is critical to the cognitive, emotional, and physical health of students. Providing students with quality opportunities to directly experience the natural world can improve students’ overall academic performance, self-esteem, community involvement, personal health, and understanding of nature. How can Oregon schools make the most of this opportunity?
With 197 school districts spread across high desert, wooded hillsides, agricultural valleys, coastal communities, and urban centers, Oregon’s school grounds are highly diverse. There are countless ways in which you may want to use (and improve) your school grounds: install raised garden beds in a courtyard, replace a corner of your lawn with native plants, create an edible garden for your school lunch program, or plant trees and shrubs to create rejuvenating spaces for your student body and the local community alike.
The outdoor curricula and practical resources in this guide (along with an OGS Regional Coordinator and partner schools in the OGS network) will assist you in defining—refining—and meeting your school’s goals. Whether you plan to team up with other schools to create wildlife corridors (e.g., The Monarch Mission), create gardens that will foster a child’s social-emotional health, or provide hands-on experience that will inspire and advance students’ work in the sciences and social studies, we are here to help you along the way.
This guide includes:
Core certification links
Curriculum/existing learning resources
Partner organizations
Field trips
Funding opportunities
Learning standards