Indoor School Gardens: A Growing Trend

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Sep 24, 2014, 10:15 ET

LANCASTER, Pa., Sept. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- While school gardens (http://www.earthbox.com/school-gardens) make an engaging way to teach a wealth of disciplines, one obstacle often stands in the way: the growing season doesn't coincide with most of the academic year.

An increasing number of educators are overcoming this issue with indoor school gardens that use self-watering containers and grow lights. Not only do students grow in the containers year round, but these self-watering systems make it easy to plant without digging and maintain ideal growing conditions.

Indoor school gardens make it practical for students to garden throughout the academic year, regardless of the weather outside. These fourth grade students and teacher Leona Thompson of North Elementary School in West Virginia tend summer squash in their EarthBox container garden. They have been growing in EarthBoxes since 2012, and have harvested many crops, including carrots, herbs, cucumbers and beans. (PRNewsFoto/EarthBox)

From pre-K through high school and beyond, these indoor school gardens are being used to teach science, math, health, nutrition and much more. Novelty Manufacturing Co., who recently purchased EarthBox®, a product line of self-watering garden systems, is excited to continue to offer professionally developed lesson plans to help teachers integrate school gardens into the curriculum. EarthBox® school gardens address the 21^st Century STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education emphasis for Pre-K through 12^th Grade curricula.

North Elementary School in Morgantown, WV has proven the educational value of school gardens by installing EarthBox® container gardens in every single classroom. The program, a collaboration of West Virginia University (WVU) and 30 professional development schools, helps address next Generation Science Standards, notes Dr. James Rye, Curriculum and Instruction Professor, WVU. "The 2^nd grade strawberry project is a particular favorite," he remarks, "and the students love the fact the lessons eventually become edible!" Not only do students and their families consume the harvests, but they also sell some of the produce at a nearby farmer's market for a lesson on entrepreneurship.

The Academy of Aerospace and Engineering elementary school in Connecticut uses indoor school gardens to engage their youngest students. There's an EarthBox® container garden system in every pre-K and kindergarten class, with more on the way for this year's first graders. "Students love to visit the plants to see how large they have grown," reports STEM coach Dr. Janice Mooney-Frank. "They always look forward to taste tests at harvest time, and the lesson opportunities are endless."

EarthBox® Education Director Molly Philbin (retired) estimates that over 2,000 schools use EarthBox container gardens in their curriculum. "One New Jersey Charter School even devotes an entire classroom to an EarthBox 'farm'," she notes. "Not only do students learn about food, nutrition and biology, but school gardens also provide opportunities for scientific observations, mathematical computations, and environmental stewardship. Best of all, it's so much fun that the kids don't even realize how much they're learning."

About EarthBox
The patented EarthBox was introduced in 1994 after a decade of research by commercial farmers looking for a maintenance-free way to grow in ideal conditions. Since then, the EarthBox has been used in home gardens, commercial farms, schools and restaurants around the world. More information is available at www.earthbox.com.

Contact:
Stephanie Seese, Marketing Manager
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800-821-8838

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SOURCE EarthBox