Whether you enjoy a sweet strawberry or crunchy lettuce for your salad, there is something for everyone’s taste buds in the RCDS garden that is located in the new courtyard. Students are involved from seed to table as they plant the seeds, care for them and finally bring the vegetables to harvest, providing the school with fresh produce and also donating to Horizons and Lunch Break. “Service to the community and the environment are skills that can be taught when children are young. By the time they get to Upper School and beyond, it is already part of who they are as individuals and that can foster positive change on a global scale,” said Jane Denny, History teacher and Director of Community Service at RCDS.
Working in the garden also brings a sense of community that arises both in the creating of the garden as well as caring for it. Aside from its beauty, the garden gives a sense of belonging and provides a powerful, interdisciplinary learning experience for all students. Students can spend time outdoors in the garden with activities that connect to and support the classroom curriculum. Right now, the garden has already inspired the art department to create a beautiful mosaic located at the courtyard’s entryway.
The garden has been a labor of love. Special thanks to parents Marshall Lynch (Eleanor '15 and Coley '17), Jane Orr (Maddie '15, Lily '16, and Alastair '20) and Jen Crowell (Caden '18, Chloe '21 and Callie '23) who have been instrumental in helping Mrs. Denny and Horizons Director Lori Hohenleitner turn the space into a productive learning and growing environment.
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This summer, Horizons will use the garden as an outdoor classroom and integrate the garden and green issues of sustainability into the curriculum. “Our goal is to have an outdoor classroom coordinator who will work with each of our grade level teachers, as well as our art teacher, music teacher, reading and writing specialists to plant food that can be used in our meals and snacks. We want to use the space to promote the love of learning that we strive for every day at Horizons. We are really excited about the opportunity,” said Ms. Hohenleitner. As part of the RCDS mission “to nourish academic excellence, individual and social responsibility, civic awareness and leadership skills,” the garden is the perfect learning tool that can help fulfill this mission because students begin to understand the ecological consequences of their actions and how decisions they make now can have long-term effects in the future. “Children need to be connected to where they live and where they go to school. Treating people and things with kindness and respect, whether it is the planet they live on or the school they attend are important parts of everyday life at RCDS and becoming stewards of the RCDS garden is a natural extension of that mindset,” said Headmaster Chad Small.
