CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Two urban community gardens are helping local students learn about growing vegetation as they learn about outdoor education.
Corpus Christi Montessori School is partnering with Keepers of the Garden with two community gardens, one on campus and one away from the school.
On Fridays, the middle schools are able to take a field trip to the off-campus garden and cultivating about two acres of land.
“If we want to paint, do art, if we want to grow plants, fix plants, that’s what we do,” said eighth-grader Sirrayah Washington.
“Their teachers are coming out with them and actually teaching them their lessons in the garden," said Tevin Gray, enrichment teacher at C.C. Montressori. "And then during the second half of the day I will do more outdoor education with them as a group."
Gray said he’s there as an enrichment teacher to help students with gardening, cooking, and additional life skills.
“They have a lot more independence, they kind of work at their own rate and we really focus on that freedom that the student has over a traditional school,” said Gray.
Some of the plants destroyed after the big freeze. But students and teachers were able to save some.
“We also really plan ahead," eighth-grader Nevaeh Newman said. "We like to use sap, like little seed babies just in case, if something bad were to really happen to the garden it would be really easy to just bring in reinforcements."
Gray adds that his group has made other arrangements to help the plants grow after last month's unsettling weather.
“We had a lot of plant babies that we brought inside and we have been using those to re-establish,” he said, adding that he is excited to see the students' passion for outdoor education, the passion they bring to the class, and the skills they learn.
“Just seeing them being able to take that seed and actually grow it, turn that seed into a watermelon, harvest it and eat it," Gray said. "I think that is such a rewarding thing for them to be able to experience."
Gray said it’s important to teach kids gardening because it reinforces sustainable life skills and focuses on their health and well-being.
To learn more about C.C. Montessori School, check here.
To learn more about Keepers of the Garden, check here.
