Las Colinas School Garden Comes to Life

The recently planted garden at Las Colinas Middle School in Camarillo is part of a seventh grade Life Science course. The seventh graders along with students from a special education class are in charge of managing and maintaining the garden.

Only about a month old, the planter boxes already contain plants well on their way to producing such edibles as tomatoes, greens (including head lettuce, leaf lettuce, and bok choy), radishes, cucumbers, squash, nasturtiums, onions, potatoes, and beans as well as herbs like rosemary, oregano, and basil. There are also flowers including gerbera daisies, roses, succulents, geraniums and hibiscus.

The program is part hands-on, part in-class learning. The garden curriculum teaches students about plant development, plant taxonomy and ecological interactions (including symbiotic relationships with pollinators, competitive relationships with weeds and managing the effects of pests). They learn about cellular processes like photosynthesis and cellular respiration and finally about health and nutrition.

Next year, the school hopes to build up its garden program to include more edibles and pollinator-attracting plants. Gardens make learning fun!

For more about local school gardens, go to http://www.agromin.com/blog/.