Welcome to my inquiry project! Over the next few months I will be exploring horticulture; why it is valuable and how it can be taught in the classroom.
What is Horticulture?
Horticulture is the art and science behind cultivating gardens. I believe horticulture is a valuable skill that needs to be taught in our classrooms. Much of what I know about horticulture comes from a summer job I had at the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific (HCP). Take this common scenario as an example as to why the study of horticulture should be valued,
When a student opens their lunch box, what do they see? Apples, bananas, cheese, bread, packaged granola bars. Many students may not think much of these things. Their knowledge of these things and where they came from ends at the grocery store. That is how much they see of their food. But these food did not start out in a store. Apples could be from the Okanogan, Bananas from South America, cheese from a local farm, bread made from grain grown in the parries, and granola bars packaged in a factory using ingredients from all over the world. We are so disconnected from our food and by disconnecting from our food, we in turn disconnect ourselves from the land. Growing our own food allows us to reconnect and better understand what goes into our lunch box.
Purpose
The purpose of this inquiry project is to answer the questions, What are the benefits to teaching horticulture in schools? What are schools doing today to teach horticulture? What can you do at home to connect yourself with plants in a meaningful way? And what do teachers need to know before starting a school garden project?
Throughout this project I will be interviewing teachers, looking into field trip opportunities, deepening my own understanding of gardening, and exploring different resources that can be used in a classroom.
Resources
There are a lot of resources out there to explore horticulture and gardening. Middle school is a great time to do lessons focusing on learning the terminology of horticulture, however this lesson could be adapted for use with younger grades as well. Lessons should also be taught on invasive species, as a garden is a great place to observe invasives and learn what we can do to combat their influence on our ecosystem.
A Word About Safety
With activities such as the one above it is important that you ensure the proper safety measures have been taken. This activity, like other gardening activities, uses hand tools. It is therefore only appropriate for a high school class that has had safety training regarding those tools. Whenever you are working with plants that you are not familiar with you risk allergic reaction. Like mentioned in the video, students should be given proper safety equipment for the gardening activities they participate in. This includes gardening gloves. Ensure gardening gloves fit well. I recommend finding gloves that have a latex coating such as these, as they will offer more protection then cloth gloves.
