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Last Spring, when my 7th graders returned to campus, I wanted to give them as much opportunity as possible to get up and move around during my class because with the social distancing and 'ohana group measures, they pretty much stayed in one seat all day. So instead of growing plants indoors as usual, we decided to work on our school's courtyard garden to do something to help our school. With a few flimsy garden tools, reused Solo cups for pots, and cuttings and seeds brought from home, we were able to create an small green oasis in a formerly weed-covered patch of lawn. We need places to grow edible and decorative plants as well as tools that won't bend and break. With the new gardening tool sets, each group will be able to work simultaneously and we'll be able grow more plants to beautify our campus and help loosen up the hard packed soil to reduce flooding and runoff into storm drains. Many native plants are slow growing compared to introduced and invasive plants so we need to give them some TLC in pots before planting them in the ground. I will use the stories and activity books to help inspire the 7th graders as they design the next phase of our school garden and study matter and energy in our biosphere. The 9th graders meanwhile will utilize the inflatable, write-on globes as the study marine science and design and test possible engineering solutions to pollution from runoff and other point sources and ways to preserve coral reef habitats. Together my classes will immerse themselves in our ahupua'a, to examine the relationships between air, land, and sea as well as their place and kuleana in that space.
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