Growing Green Community: APS School Garden Meetup at Carlin Springs Elementary School

By Mary Van Dyke for Green STEM Learning

April showers bring May flowers!

Between morning showers and an evening hailstorm, on a sunny afternoon the APS School Garden Meetup gathers in the garden courtyard of Carlin Springs Elementary School.

Whatever the weather, we are all here to talking about growing green communities.  Our hosts: Carol Sabatino, Community School Coordinator, and colleagues include Jeff Postell, PE staff,  and Josh Allen, 4th grade teacher, Carlin Springs’ community volunteers and other organizational partners. It takes a partnered community to successfully garden at schools and “grow greening”. Our guests are members of the APS School Garden Meetup group. We are all here to learn and exchange tips and best practices, and to grow our green networks too.

Courtyard Garden Carol introduces the courtyard habitat and goals.

L to R, Robin Whitmore, Liz Macklin, Carol Sabatino, Elenor Hodges. Photo by Mary Van Dyke.

5th grader's piece on how to use the Garden Courtyard from this month’s school newsletter.

Nonprofit partner Lands and Waters grow lettuce with an after school group

Lands and Waters have partnered with Carlin Springs school for many years now. Lands and Waters first helped with habitat restoration. Growing lettuce is one of their newest projects.  Lands and Waters representatives host 10 students in a gardening club that meets weekly for 1 ½ hours after school. They are funded by a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant.

In previous years, Carol’s job was also sponsored through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers federal after school grant, although now her position is funded through Arlington Public Schools. In the courtyard we also admire the pond and learn about its history and how it is sustained. Artist, Liz Macklin, shows us some of her photos drawing in after school classes with students.

We listen to the calming sound of the waterfall and birds singing. A turtle suns itself on a rock. In the corner of the courtyard, I see a birds nest on a window ledge.  

Robin Whitmore discusses the pond and turtle habitat with PE teacher, Jeff Postel

One of the community volunteers, Robin Whitmore, brings her expertise to care for the pond and the turtle habitat.  Robin tells us that there have been lots of toad and frog spawn this year, and sometimes on spring mornings there are frogs all over the courtyard path!

Turtle habitat and bird’s nest on window cill

One goal in the courtyard is to increase native plantings to help create habitat for wildlife, and to reduce the amount of lawn grass so the custodians have less mowing to take care of. The courtyard is accessed from two  indoor spaces that make useful and beautiful classrooms for preparing outdoor lessons. Grow Lights as a partnered project with 4-H and Extended Day. Next on our tour, we stop by a classroom with grow lights.

Grow lights on loan from 4-H with seedlings being cared for by Extended Day staff and students The grow lights are a simple “build your self system” from PVC pipes with “off the peg” lamps. This low-cost arrangement is on loan from partners at Arlington’s 4-H.

The big challenge was not building the grow light system, but how to care for seedlings at school? Young seedlings need attention, and maybe watering once a day. Here at Carlin Springs, Carol invited the Extended Day staff   with a group of students after school to take care of the seedlings. The students are growing quick germinating seeds including sunflowers in recycled lunch containers and egg boxes. The system is simple.  If the group wants to take it to the next level, they could perhaps get a timer to turn off the lights? Giving seedlings only 18 hours of light a day, and a  dark rest period at night would help the seedlings grow to be less leggy.  This experiment however, as it is, is already successful. The students and staff are engaged, and delighted with the learning process!

Pre-K's Garden

Pre-K Help Create Their Own GardenWe continue outside to  pre-K’s new garden. The pre-K class brought the mulch to the garden, bucket by bucket and the stones one by one from the parking lot. What a wonderful teaching in collective team work. Carol and Jeff describe other projects they have in mind for this area. Perhaps the area could be developed to include a vegetable patch and even a foraging forest? Virginia Native Wildflower Garden partnered with Master Gardeners and Master NaturalistsNext we go to see the wildflower area, in the median at the entrance of the school. This area is now being looked after by students with the guidance of Master Gardener Nancy Davis and  Master Naturalist, Joan Gottlieb. Together with students and volunteers, they have restored a VA native plant wildflower garden that was planted here several years ago by Master Gardener Judy Funderburk and others. This garden already has a long history and legacy - but  it needs many hours of work each year to keep in good health and thriving - or the weeds simply take over.  

Red Vetch cover crop to suppress weeds in the wildflower garden

Weed Suppressing Techniques: Cover Crops and  Paper, Mulch, Corn GluteNancy and Joan are unable to be with us today on the tour, but share some of their weed suppressing tips and techniques. They are using cover crop of red vetch in the wildflower garden.  In one vegetable bed they are experimenting with covering the bed in the fall with layers of wet newspaper and about 5 inch of mulch and sprinkling on corn gluten. Will that help suppress crabgrass?

Gardening with students as part of PE in school and after schoolJeff Postell, PE teacher and Nancy worked to bring groups of students out here to work in the wildflower garden. During PE groups of students came out after their cardio workout for 20 minutes. But Nancy and the students felt that 20 minutes is not really long enough to do gardening, however even 20 minutes was a good start to the school community’s revitalization of interest in this wildflower garden project. Now volunteers are working on providing students with a longer time to work in this native garden as an activity or club during after school time.

Virginia native wildflower garden in early May

Signs to highlight ecology of some VA native plantA Master Gardener intern has made signs describing the ecology of the native plants, including the Red Bud tree, Butterfly Weed, Virginia Copperleaf and the Prickly Pear Cactus. Soon the signs will be on display in the garden

Signs for the native wildflower garden showing ecological relationships and plant lifecycles
Made by Master Gardener intern as capstone project

Weekend Work Sessions with Families and VolunteersWe also discuss weekend work sessions at Carlin Spring Gardens. How frequently and how are they facilitated? Carol organizes a couple of work sessions, for families and volunteers in spring and fall on Saturdays. They usually run from 10 AM to 1 PM, then they serve refreshments. The parent organization sponsors pizza and the cost of some plants too.  Usually 35 families participate, and Master Gardeners help guide teams. Perhaps one or two teachers will be there to help too, and someone liaises in Spanish-language.

Donations to support Schoolyard GardeningChristy P, Garden Docent at neighboring Campbell Elementary School shares that some companies, including Chipotle can be invited to donate refreshments to school work parties. That is something to consider for other school and community events. Schools can also be eligible for free seeds from Seed Savers Exchange donation program and from Southern Exposure seed company. It’s late in the season for seed donations now, but it’s never too late to think ahead! We also pass along the tip that saving seed catalogs is fun for classes to use for projects. I have used images from upcycled seed catalogs to make scavenger hunts, matching games and for mod-podge decoupage projects.

Front Entrance in May
Flowers include: roses, iris, pansies, Virginia sweetspire and Stachys byzantina

At the end of our guided tour, we stop by the front door and admire the vibrant roses, irises, and planters full of pansies. How about harvesting petals for pot-pourri and pressed flower crafts?

Growing Green Schools and Communities As we say goodbye, Carol reiterates that the school’s former Building and Grounds Committee was transformed into Carlin Spring’s Growing Green Committee. The goals include to:

• improve school buildings and grounds
• connect with and enriching academic instruction, and
• meet the needs of the whole child.

Our tour around the gardens today show the strength of community networks needed to achieve these goals. We see projects that enhance the grounds, connect to and enrich students learning - and above all the joy of children contributing to their community.

Artwork made by students Spring in the garden at Carlin Springs

I thank Carol and colleagues, and look forward to keeping in contact as we continue to network and  exchange ideas and best practices and mutually support each other to grow greener programs at schools in Arlington.

APS School Garden MeetupAPS School Garden Meetups are an initiative of the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability, and have been meeting monthly during 2015-16 at ten different schools. We aim to continue visiting APS schools during 2016-17. Please contact growinggreenschools@gmail.com for further information.

Photos by Mary Van Dyke unless otherwise credited.

Resources:

• Carlin Springs Elementary School, Arlington
• Lands and Waters
• VA Cooperative Extension sponsored programs include
  • Master Gardeners in Arlington
  • Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
  • 4-H in Arlington
  • Arlington Regional Master Naturalists
• 21st Century Community Learning Center Grants
• Plant NOVA Natives - for our region's wildflowers
• Chipotle - FAQs including donations of food
• Seed Savers Exchange - donation program
• Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
• APS School Garden Meetup - the April newsletter Earth Day Every Day is at http://eepurl.com/bY2sFv
• Compiled list of local Resources on Sustainability and Outdoor Learning for Arlington are at LINK

One Small Square in the Outdoor Classroom

Ms Rascoe’s fourth grade science classes come out to the Jamestown Courtyard "outdoor classroom" to work collaboratively in teams of four students and to practice scientific method while observing a “one-meter square plot”: a One Small Square.

• We frame our inquiry in terms of “health”.
• How can we begin to assess the health of the small square?
• What is the health of the one small square plot?
• What would we do to improve the health of this plot?
• The lesson guides students experientially to an understanding of improving health of an ecosystem through increasing biodiversity. 

Click for lesson plan details.

Also note: although students mark out a meter square area, we will consider what is underground and also in the air above the soil surface.

See Donald Silver's book One Small Square - Backyard for inspiration.

Each team of four students builds a one-meter square with ½ inch plastic pipes.

Each student team locates their meter square within a general area of the courtyard garden. Here are the 6 areas identified on a googlemap

The students observe their plots using senses: look closely, listen, smell and feel too...(We're not tasting things in the garden today though!)

• Can you draw a bird's eye view of your one-meter plot?
• What would a cross-section look like?
• What do you consider to be factors influencing the "health" of your plot?
• Factors include: sun, light, soil, rock, water, air, human interactions, wildlife, plants (abiotic and biotic factors)
• Can you find and identify the plants in the plot?
• Are there any insects and wildlife in your plot today?
• Can you name them?
• Observe the insects and wildlife and describe what they are doing.
• Can you make a hypothesis or an inference about what might be under the soil surface using some of the information on the surface or by exploring carefully?

The students discuss together and diagram and write notes in their science journals, using pencil and colors.

After making observations, students begin to formulate a "health assessment" of the plot and propose design improvements.

• What do we mean by “health” of the garden? We discuss ecosystems, biodiversity, wellness...
• What would you do to measure and improve the health your plot? Consider potential signs of health.
• The students begin to think about introducing plants or other ways they could increase the biodiversity and improve the health of their plot.

Here are some results and ideas for improvement: Plot Name of Plot Observations of Plot Ideas for Improvement of "Health" of Plot 1 Sensory Garden Not much growing yet Daffodils are out Sage (smells) silvery leaves Thyme (smells) Strawberries Sign saying second grade are going to be planting a garden here with a QR Code links to a planting list Could add many more plants with different textures, feel and smell to appeal to the senses and for students to study Needs pathway 2 End Wall Name of this area is not very poetic! Smells of drains from toilet inside Looks like a plant died and left a big “gap” After rain hear rainwater in the downpipe Crocuses in flower but behind big shrubs so you can’t see them Need to report potential drain leak to Principal and Custodians - it smells unhealthy in this area Need to select and plant a shrub to fill the “gap” Can anyone think of better name for this area? Could dig up and replant crocuses in front of the big bushes so they are visible and we can enjoy them in the spring 3 Weather Station Christmas Rose, Hellebore in flower just outside the plot The weather station has a thermometer that might work, a rain gauge and an anemometer to measure wind speed. The anemometer is broken. There is a birdhouse Some plants here are Coneflowers, Echinacea that have seeds that provide food for birds such as goldfinches A weather station is an asset to the student’s use of the courtyard. But this one is broken. Perhaps it’s time to think about getting a new one? There is also room to plant more plants here 3 Pyramidal Frame Decide the frame is for a climbing plant there’s a label but no plant in sight There might be a plant waiting to come up? Plant a climbing plant here if one doesn’t regrow in the spring? 4 K Tulip/Milkweed Garden Several students remember planting tulips here when they were in Kindergarten and see lots of tulip leaves In addition to tulips there are crocuses and lots of other plants identified as wild garlic, mugwort, chickweed It might be a good idea to weed this bed of wild garlic and mugwort so that the plants intended to be here such as the tulips and milkweed can thrive more. Also the milkweed likely will overcome some of the smaller plants here. If milkweed is to be here - it might be more healthy for the plot to move the other plants to where they can more easily thrive? 5 Second Grade Garden This garden lacks a poetic name! Last week it was called the bed of the “decomposing pumpkin” There are a lot of plants here that look interesting including lambs ear, asters, honeysuckle, buddleia and boxwoods We discuss relative impacts of the various plants. Buddleia although a nectar provider for insects can now be invasive in this area, perhaps it should be taken out and replaced with native plant? The students like the lambs ears - it could also be divided to plant in the Sensory Garden. It needs to be managed to not overgrow its plot. 6 3 B’s Bird, Bees and Butterflies, Pollinators and Milkweed Garden This garden has a name - although it is long. Students find a rhizome of milkweed There are a lot of hairy bittercress in flower, mugwort and other plants such as mint and lavender growing here May need to move lavender out of this bed as it will be overcome by mint Could weed out Could plant other plants to increase biodiversity and increase flowers from spring to summer for pollinators

This lesson was 45 minutes long and gave students a quick overview and idea of what they could do for stewardship projects to help create a more healthy environment in the courtyard: to increase biodiversity. The students are excited today by observing their selected small square plots, and feel empowered by suggesting ways they could contribute to the overall well-being of the courtyard. Students offer to be included in the stewardship and maintenance process of the courtyard, and I note proposals include: to plant seeds and plants, and to weed and water. Students begin to discuss health of the ecosystem in terms of increasing biodiversity.

Credits and Resources

One Small Square is inspired by "Magic Spots" in The Growing Classroom, p. 238.

Donald Silver: One Small Square - Backyard

One Small Square adaptations

The One Small Square lesson can be adapted for working over several class periods, and for elementary, middle school and high school students to assess for example: the health of a tree and an ecosystem, and to form an introduction to more extensive civic engagement stewardship projects.

For example:

• At Gunston Middle School, I developed materials in Spanish and English for 6th grade students to observe tree health, do site assessments and catalyze stewardship projects.
• At Arlington Traditional School, second grade and fifth grade classes observed their Small Squares over a year (Sept/Oct 2011) and implemented design projects.
• The iSchool for the Future blogs One Small Square as a family activity.
• Use the One Small Square lesson as an introduction for more extensive site assessments and audits of your schoolyard and school such as required for the Eco-Schools USA program.