Children are Natural Gardeners
The Future Farmers of America from Ocoee High school came to the Apopka Family Learning Center to help with the garden. These volunteers take time away from their own personal time to volunteer at the center and to help the children re-build our garden. Our staff appreciates the young farmers because this helps the children who are curios, like to learn by doing and love working with the soil. The children experience satisfaction that comes from caring for something over time. They learn by observing the cycle of a plant’s life, first you plant the seed, see it grow, give fruit, and later die.
Working in a garden, gives the children a break from the stresses of life and the ever increasing demands of the school work.
Gardening gives children a chance to learn an important life skill, it adds to the concepts learned in the classroom, by being hands on with nature. Gardening is also a great way to teach environmental awareness by exploring the importance of recycling and the mechanisms of nature.
The Royal Horticultural Society, UK, released a new report that found numerous benefits to children who work in gardens. The study, performed by the National Foundation for Educational Research, looked at 10 schools ranging in size and location from inner city to smaller towns.
They found that students who are exposed to growing their own plant-based food have increased life and learning skills. They exhibit higher literacy, increased understanding of food production, wider vocabularies, and better awareness of the seasons, a sense of responsibility, more self-confidence, and a plethora of additional benefits.
