Located in the southeast corner of Gateway High School's parking lot, Gateway's garden and outdoor classroom not only adds a touch of natural beauty to the high school's urban ambiance, but it also promises to serve as a living laboratory for students by providing hands-on learning in science, math, and other subject areas.
The push for a school gardening program– which has been shown to improve children's eating habits, learning ability, and overall health – took root in the fall of 2013 when Justin Berthiaume, Garden Club sponsor and Gateway High School Environmental Science teacher, enlisted a team of urban permaculture garden designers who together designed the garden and secured a $20,000 grant from the San Francisco Department of the Environment for the first phase of construction.
The garden broke ground last spring and has grown exponentially since then. Students, parents, and volunteers of the Gateway Garden club have worked twice a week after school as well as on some Saturdays to cultivate and support the garden.
"We've always envisioned an open garden that serves as a connection between our school and the broader community, both locally and globally," explains Berthiaume. "We're trying to find as many partners as possible that share our values."
This spring the Garden Club partnered with an organization called Common Vision to host a day-long school program in the garden where ten trained educators, students, staff, and volunteers planted fifteen fruit trees and learned more about horticulture and environmental science.
Common Vision, an organization devoted to implementing innovative strategies in sustainability, mirrors the mission of Gateway's science program which places an emphasis on students engaging in science through inquiry-based learning techniques.
The garden is now in its second phase and members of the Garden Club just completed a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign for an automated drip irrigation system. According to Mr. Berthiaume, this system will ensure that all of the plants and trees get enough water throughout the year while minimizing water loss, an important consideration with the California drought.
While the young garden is beginning to yield fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, and flowers, it provides so much more to the community. "Even in its early stages, our garden provides students, staff, and neighbors with opportunities that they would not have had otherwise, like connecting with nature at school, working on real construction projects, viewing first-hand regenerative design techniques, participating in resource stewardship, and building community around food and health," said Mr. Berthiaume.
The Garden Club is a great success, advancing Gateway's commitment to building connections between what happens in the classroom and in the real world, shaping students' creativity, adaptability, and resiliency, and expanding our science and environmental education curriculum.
For pictures of the garden and updates on its progress, please visit the Garden Club website.
Pictured above: Students participating in a day-long program in the garden with Common Vision.