Glendale Elementary Outdoor Classroom. and also offers developmental bilingual education as well as SAGE (Student Achievement

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1 1 Introduction Glendale Elementary Outdoor Classroom Glendale Elementary School is located at 1201 Tompkins Drive in Madison, Wisconsin. There are 467 students enrolled from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade, with a 9.7 student to teacher ratio. Glendale is a dual immersion school where classes are taught in both English and Spanish, and also offers developmental bilingual education as well as SAGE (Student Achievement Guarantee in Education). The demographic breakdown of students at Glendale is quite diverse. 37.9% of students are Hispanic/Latino, 24.8% are white, 19.1% are Black or African American, 7.7% are Asian, 9.9% are Multiracial, and 0.6% are American Indian/Alaska Native. Most students are bussed to Glendale from neighboring low-income communities. 67.9% of students are considered to be low-income, and 77% of Glendale's students receive free or reduced lunch. Glendale has had a garden since its creation, but its location moved from the back of the school to the front around five years ago in Since then the garden has flourished and become a scenic fixture at Glendale Elementary. Garden Development Glendale originally had a garden in the back of the school in a wooded-wetland area. That garden eventually became overgrown, unmanageable, and rarely used. A few teachers, namely third-grade teacher Sara Milewski, dreamed of moving the garden to the front of the school. Joe Muellenberg, who was working with Sara as a Nutrition teacher at the time, decided to help make it happen. The purpose of this garden would be to grow food for educational purposes, such as nutrition, science, or other disciplines. In 2009, AmeriCorps student Max Lubarsky came to Glendale to help plant the new garden in the front of the property and work with the after-school program. Working alongside Joe and Sara, Max diligently pursued improvements in the garden. While they tried to get more

2 2 parents and teachers involved, Joe noted that they were putting all of their energy into the programs and making the garden happen, and not enough energy into organizing people around it. Max left to pursue other things in Colorado last year, and losing his dedication and expertise turned out to be a huge hurt for the garden and those involved with it. People invested in the garden realized they needed to spend more time getting people together, spreading out the tasks, and restructuring the ownership and governance of the garden. Thus, the "Garden Committee" was formed and began their work in January. The Garden Committee has been working hard to increase participation and communication. The committee is divided up into three sections: 1. Garden Promotion: getting the word out about the garden, connecting it to curriculum, recruiting people 2. Garden Maintenance and Growing: facilitating planting, summer maintenance, coordinating who will do what 3. Garden Events: coordinating, organizing, and planning events While around twenty people receive the Garden Committee s, approximately eight attend the meetings. Currently, there are no official rules or "gatekeepers" to the garden. Joe conceded that some people might assume there are rules and consequently shy away from the garden. While there are plenty of signs marking the plantings, a lack of signage welcoming people to utilize the garden on their own might hinder community and parental participation as well. Joe and the Garden Committee are working hard to let everyone know that they can get involved and teachers can bring their classes out to work. Joe's dream would be to have such a large interest in the garden that teachers need to coordinate times when they will take their classes out. Joe really

3 3 wants teachers to view the garden as an outdoor classroom and a valuable resource to teach a variety of subjects. Sara Milweski works as the academic school-day contact, trying to connect the garden with academic content, and also running the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Grant. Sara's classroom also acts as the host for seedlings. Mike Gibson works with the after-school Safe Haven students and does a lot of work and event-planning incorporating the garden. Events and Other Uses Since the garden moved to the front of the school, it has been used in a variety of ways. There is a Harvest Fest and a Spring and a Fall Garden Gala where people can plant and participate in activities. Using the blender bike, having seed-spitting contests, making veggie necklaces, and utilizing the MSCR Fit Van are all fun parts of these events. The after-school program uses it for other events too, and the garden stage has been used for kindergarten graduation ceremonies. The free library that draws people in, and an unintended use has been that parents are using the garden as safe spot to pick up their kids from after school. One year, they even had a parade coordinated by Mike Gibson. The local high school marching band came, students dressed up in vegetable and fruit costumes, and they used shopping carts for the floats. Every so often Glendale has garden work days in which anyone from the community is invited to come work in the garden. For the following fifteen weeks starting in May, the Garden Committee, in coordination with the neighborhood association, will hold workdays on Tuesday nights during the summer and attract people by bringing in food carts. One night Glendale will receive the proceeds from the food carts, and they plan to do garden plays that night to bring in an even larger group of people. During the summers, Max used to work with the Safe Haven students to maintain the garden. According to Sara, the garden turned into an overgrown jungle

4 4 last summer without Max around, so the Garden Committee is hoping the Tuesday night workdays will allow the garden to remain in tact. GBOE Student Impact So far, Joe thinks the garden has been making a great impact on students and their ideas about nutrition. According to Joe, "Kids will always be kids. They will always like ranch sauce and hot Cheetos, but it's all about having the information to make good choices to be healthy." Additionally, Joe has noticed that kids will always at least try what they have personally grown before anyone else has told them that they should like it. Joe believes that lot of kids are not exposed to what it's like to see their own food growing. Knowing gardening is something they can be involved with instead of relying on food coming as an over-priced, processed product is powerful. Joe also hopes that kids will push their parents to try something new, plant in their own yards, or just make them more comfortable in a garden. While teachers may not see direct effects, Joe thinks that impacting behavior through learning is something educators should hope for. "I think the choices you make are based on every little experience you've had in the past, so as an educator you remember that and don't get discouraged," offers Joe. Garden Use Survey During the regrouping phase before the Garden Committee was formed, Sara and Joe sent out a survey to the staff to gain a better understanding of things like how the garden was being used, what barriers to using the garden they faced, and how often they used the garden. There were several respondents, but here are just a few insightful sample questions and responses: How have you used the garden with students in the past? o Nutrition classes o Connected to literacy, science, math curriculum o Eating lunch or snack o Behavioral/social/emotional learning o Didn't know we had a garden! How have you used the garden for yourself in the past? o Eating lunch

5 5 o Mindfulness/stress relief What barriers to using the garden have you encountered? o Not enough time in the day o Weather didn't cooperate o Lack of expertise o Didn't know it was available for use o Student behavioral concerns What are your hopes and dreams for the Glendale Garden going forward? o Creating a learning lab or outdoor classroom that could be integrated into all content areas o Each grade could be responsible for a specific area and maintenance o Collaboration between school, neighborhood, and community o Composting school food o Students to learn about healthy eating and how to grow healthy food According to the results, around 20 teachers have at least brought their students out to the garden at least within the past year. Some of the behavior support team takes students out there for social regulation for mindfulness practice or to help regulate escalated behavior as well. Funding The Glendale garden has obtained multiple grants. They received $1,000 through the Community Action Coalition, $1,200 from the Willy Street Co-op Reinvestment Fund, and also pieced together money from the Glendale Parent Leadership Team, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCAP), as well as from the Master Gardener's Association. Physical Assets Currently, the garden has a plethora of physical assets. Twelve Leopold benches were built by the teams at Operation Fresh Start (an alternative high school with a work and learn program), and then were painted by the third graders. A round table surrounded by tree stumps for stools was donated by a local church in Monona. Joe and a few others made a standard picnic table, as well as installed a sink with water running from inside the school. Multiple compost bins, raised beds, perennial gardens, sunflower patches, and other plants all have their designated areas within the garden. A three-foot tall fence was installed around the whole garden two years

6 6 ago, which cost around $ The shed, which immediately catches your eye as you pass by the school, was creatively designed by a muralist. Additionally, the green roof makes it a functional sustainability and educational tool as well. There is nothing on an immediate list that Glendale desires to add, but they always have ideas - such as more indoor resources to start seedlings - for ways to increase the garden resources. Embracing Diversity Since Glendale students come from such diverse backgrounds, Glendale works to incorporate diversity in many ways. When walking the hallways of Glendale, one sees signs in English, Spanish, and Hmong. There are several murals and mosaics that celebrate diversity and embrace other cultures. Inclusivity does not stop at the school walls, however, as the recognition of diversity is extended into the garden as well. The previously mentioned shed is a beautiful fixture within the garden that incorporates multiple cultures and makes everyone feel as if they belong. The artist who worked on the shed designed it in such a way that depicts multiple skin tones and languages. The muralist created a "paint-by-numbers" type of outline and had kids color it in, finishing up with her own shading and final touches afterward. Additionally, the words on the shed are written in English, Spanish, and Hmong. Other signs throughout the garden - like the plant markers created by the first graders - are written in English and Spanish as well. The plant selection is diverse too. The salsa garden, or collard greens are a few ways in which they try to plant a broad range of fruits and vegetables that would be found in a lot of different family's kitchens. One popular planting and lesson is that of the "three sisters." Joe uses the native plantings of corn, beans, and squash to talk about symbiotic relationships and how organisms other than humans are able to work together as a team to help each other out. In fact, Joe himself was hired as a bilingual nutrition educator because he is fluent in Spanish.

7 7 GBOE and the Community Currently, Glendale lacks the engagement they desire from parents and community with their garden. Since the surrounding community is an aging population without kids attending the school, and most of the students are bussed from neighboring areas, a sense of belonging is low. Glendale tries to engage parents by sending out information about events and work days in the school newsletter, as well as by encouraging children to discuss and share their nutrition knowledge at home. The Garden Committee gained one parent volunteer through the school newsletter, and has sought out other parents they knew who had a certain expertise or skill. As stated previously, Joe said that while they have attempted to organize people around the garden, they previously have prioritized their time putting the garden and its programs first. This is something he hopes the Garden Committee can improve upon. Staff Development According to those interviewed, no teachers have formally participated in any garden training or include the garden in their lesson plans. Future of the Garden There are no immediate plans for changing the garden at this moment. Sara and another teacher are planning to use their own time and mark areas in the curriculum that intersect with garden education for other teachers to use. As the Garden Committee gains momentum, changes are bound to ensue in the future. Appendix Interviews: Mike Gibson

8 8 o Glendale Elementary o March 26, 1:30pm Sara Milewski o Glendale Elementary o March 26, 2:45pm Joe Muellenberg o Glendale Elementary o March 27, 10:30am Photos Taken 4/47/15

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11 Photos taken 4/11/15 during the first work-day 11