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Growing Good Stewards
A garden is the ideal instrument for teaching environmental stewardship. What better way to learn appreciation of mother earth than by spending time tending a garden. From the tilling in spring, to the turning over of the soil after the last harvest, young people learn what it takes to make a bountiful plot. Whether it is a vegetable or flower garden, seasoned gardeners can help instill in novices a welcome feeling of responsibility to the earth and inspire them to be good earth stewards beyond the garden, as well.
The joy that comes from planting, then watching seeds sprout can only be surpassed by picking the flowers or harvesting the produce. Whether it is a beautiful bouquet or a fistful of radishes and whether an individual is eight, eighteen, or eighty, the joy never goes out of the harvest.
A garden is the perfect place to teach water conservation and land management. Children can be taught from an early age the benefits of rainwater collection, composting, and mulching. Introducing gardeners to organic methods of pest protection, such as beneficial insects or companion planting teaches stewardship that will only intensify with each planting year. These, and other natural methods of keeping pests in check, will be well-received as opposed to using harmful chemicals that can leach into groundwater, our bodies, and our produce.
Each year in my science classes I have tried to incorporate more lessons into my curriculum that include stewardship. Whether we are learning about gardening, ecology, green building, or alternative energy, the students are passed the torch to continue in the quest for teaching sustainability. I tell them when they leave my classroom they become the teachers.
Last year as my students were trying to come up with a slogan for the “green team” we had formed I shared an example of one I had come up with:
Our school is
Growing
Responsible
Environmental
Educators
Now
I told them that it is their responsibility to go out and teach, to share all that they learn about what it takes to care for our earth. All of my students are green team members, thus they are expected to continually educate others on stewardship. I told them, “We each teach.” Every so often I assign a “Teach Three, Reach Three –Teach Four, Reach More” activity in which they are to go home and share what they have learned with three or four individuals. When twenty-five students share organic gardening tips with 3 – 4 people a piece a minimum of one hundred people have learned tips on becoming good stewards.
When we enthusiastically share our knowledge, the excitement spreads and great things can happen. All we have to do is plant the seeds, tend with care and watch them grow.
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