Gardening can be used very effectively to encourage healthy learning. Gardens are great places for place-based learning that promotes inquiry. Furthermore, gardens can help build and maintain a more positive classroom envrionment. When done properly, there are many things students can learn from a garden, ranging from art to science.
However, there may be many difficulties in the creation and maintainence of a garden. The land is very hard to come by. Maintaining a garden also takes a lot of time and effort. Hence, not many schools have a garden under their name.
Regardless, learning in a garden can be used as an example for place-based-inquiry. One is not neccessary restricted to learning in a garden. Parks, nature, and other places will all have similar function in terms of place-based-learning and inquiry.
Thanks Steven. And I love the typo that makes this an 'exist slip', since surely the garden makes us aware that we are alive and existing in the world!
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