Staff writer Shabnam Amini reports:
Children, parents and volunteers joined the staff at a Pleasant Grove elementary school Tuesday to build a garden that will serve as an outdoor classroom.
Students at San Jacinto Elementary School worked on projects like painting rocks like lady bugs and stick like lizards, while the adults drilled and planted.
“We have all these volunteers here helping so the kids will be able to do projects with fruits, vegetables and plants,” said Nancy Aviles, a counselor at the school. “They will get to learn about nature as a part of their courses.”
Fort Worth-based REAL School Gardens brings the gardens to the schools, with help from sponsors like Sabre Corp. and VHA Inc. Educators from the nonprofit coach teachers on outdoor learning.
“Once the garden is built, it is a seed that needs to be nourished,” said Logan LeCompte, one of the educators for REAL School Gardens. “The teaching that goes on in the garden is really the secret to what we do.”
The three-year program costs $75,000, which pays to build the garden, train teachers and keep up maintenance over that period. The schools pitch in part of that, but the rest comes from corporate donations.
“Our students have grown from this experience because they have had the opportunity to design the garden,” said Hugo Avila, principal at San Jacinto.
REAL School Gardens have been planted at about 40 Dallas schools. The organization’s 100th school garden will be planted in November at Jerry R. Junkins Elementary School in Carrollton.
