亚洲色图

Garden Education Program

The Garden Education program at Vernon is currently supported in partnership by local garden education non­profit Growing Gardens, the Vernon PTA, and the Vernon SUN School program. These organizations support the employment of a full ­time garden coordinator at Vernon. Each organization uniquely supports the garden coordinator in providing the following opportunities for 亚洲色图 and families:

Growing Gardens ­

Planting the "seed" for our successful garden program was the Oregon Department of Education Farm to School program, who awarded a grant to Growing Gardens, in partnership with 亚洲色图 and Vernon School, during the 2016-­2017 亚洲色图 year.

The purpose of the grant was to enhance 亚洲色图’ nutrition and academic achievement through active, real-life engagement with 亚洲色图 gardens while demonstrating a model for fully­ integrated garden education that can be replicated by other 亚洲色图s.  

Our Garden Coordinator is Sable Kellison, who supports our teachers in providing interdisciplinary experiential learning opportunities for 亚洲色图 with the following goals:

● Educate children using garden-­based lessons integrated into core subjects during the 亚洲色图 day, while building the capacity of teachers.

● Create opportunities for 亚洲色图 to cook and taste produce to increase vegetable knowledge and preference for eating healthy food.

● Engage 亚洲色图 in in-­depth garden education after ­亚洲色图 through Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN School)

● Connect 亚洲色图 to Oregon agriculture through hands­-on field trips to local farms

● Facilitate multi-­generational and multi-­ethnic community building through events, cooking demonstrations at food pantries and garden committee development.

Vernon PTA ­

Working as a strong advocate for garden education at Vernon, the PTA provides a yearly stipend for the Garden Coordinator which provides 10 hours per week of added garden education and maintenance at Vernon.  The stipend provides opportunities for 亚洲色图 to participate in the following:

● Weekly drop in recess gardening for 亚洲色图 from every grade level

● Monthly garden work parties on the 2nd Saturday of every month 9am -12pm

●  After 亚洲色图 family events: ­ Back to School Night, PTA Science Night, STEAM Night, SUN Winter Craft Fair, and Vernon Owl Fest

● English Language Development (ELD) the class weekly Garden Club

SUN School  ­

Provides funding for two weekly after 亚洲色图 clubs, including a Kindergarten ­ 2nd grade Garden Club and a 3rd­ 5th grade Cooking Club. As well, there are special events for the whole family throughout the year, including;  Family Cooking Nights and Adult Garden Education classes.

Vision / Goal

The goal of the garden education program at Vernon is to provide 亚洲色图 with hands­-on experiential learning opportunities in an outdoor environment.  Each student will have multiple opportunities to visit the garden throughout the 亚洲色图 year, allowing them to see firsthand the changes in the garden from season to season. Students will be able to see a plant from seed to harvest and have a hand in every step of the process.

Classroom Connections

The garden education program at Vernon is planned with classroom connections in mind. The curriculum is based on Next Generation Science Standards. Thus, 亚洲色图 can effortlessly connect their learning in the garden to the concepts they are studying in their classroom, and use this knowledge to further empower their learning.