The Green Thumbs
I started a new after school gardening club today, with two other teachers, that will focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The whole idea for the club was to integrate gardening with the idea of sustainability, so Sustainable Development Goals are a natural way for us to organize the club and it's activities.
In the first meeting, we initially got together, introduced the club, and tried to "tune in" to what their [students] prior knowledge was. Some great vocabulary came out of the first ten minutes
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Soil
Nutrients
So, they know something.
One really awesome scene was when a co-teacher asked if the students knew what worms are. Most of them squirmed and said they were icky. Then he said that he has some and asked who wanted to touch them. They all raised their hands.
The first day's activity was then to create composting bins using the plastic boxes we had, and fill them with damp cardboard, soil, food scraps, and worms.
It was awesome.
This club will also spur action (naturally) but it could get other classes involved in the garden as well. It has also gotten kids to start talking to their parents about food waste. One family brought some in today and will bring in scraps each week.
