校园园艺悄然兴起

陈冬秀

一些教育人士认为，园艺可以帮助孩子们平静下来，让他们体验到一个完全不同的视角，孩子们还可以从中学到很多书本中没有的知识。

School gardening has become very popular during the coronavirus health crisis， withfamilies and teachers saying hands⁃on lessons can be used to teach many subjects. Findingenough money to keep a school garden going smoothly can be a very tough task. Some ex⁃perts and teachers， however， are finding creative ways to make it work effectively.

Susan Hobart is a retired elementary school teacher at Lake View Elementary Schoolin Madison， Wisconsin. She oversees the schools large garden with 12 raised beds.“Gar⁃dens are a great way to get kids outside with a purpose. With gardens， kids get to see a be⁃ginning， a middle and an end to their project，”she said. Hobart also added that the gar?dens help to calm the kids and give them a whole different perspective they wouldn’t havejust sitting at desks.

Each spring， the school’s program gets plant seedlings grown through a training pro⁃gram at a nearby prison. A church group comes during the spring break to prepare the gar⁃den for the childrens return. Over the summer， a volunteer takes care of the garden.

School gardens can teach lessons in health， science， social studies， and even arts. Giv⁃ing kids the opportunity to move outside， get their hands dirty， and find worms is a verygood experience in their life.

Having a garden in a school is just as important as any other education. The act of gar⁃dening teaches us where our food comes from and teaches us to have respect for soil. Ifkids show respect for soil， they can have respect for themselves and for this planet as well.Gardening is not a hobby. Actually， it is a life skill and one of the most valuable lessons ofhumanity.

Reading Check

Why did Hobart think gardening is beneficial to children？