Extending Learning Beyond the Classroom

Developing Respect for the Earth Requires Thinking Outside the Box

It was hard to miss the excited students lined up outside, their arms filled with leafy produce. They had just finished their very first garden harvest and were now preparing to cross the campus with a delivery for the kitchen. These second graders were grinning ear-to-ear knowing they would be handing over their produce to the school chef for chopping and seasoning—produce they had a hand in cultivating and growing. Who would be the first to tell their fellow classmates where their lunch came from?

One of many innovative learning spaces Brimmer offers students, the organic Lower School Garden challenges them to think “outside the box”—or in this case, the four walls of the classroom. Tucked behind one of our historic buildings, and inspired by the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine, the Garden is a magical place for learning about the environment, beginning as early as Pre-Kindergarten.

Leaving the confines of a school building and moving to such a unique outdoor space opens up a world of possibility, helping students explore the connections between curriculum and the earth they share, and literally bringing learning to life. Lower School Science Coordinator and grade 4 teacher Ina Patel believes the Garden presents an invaluable opportunity to teach students about caring for the planet. “Our outdoor classroom provides our students with the opportunity to learn about sustainability and composting, and it allows them to observe nature and enjoy outdoor learning experiences. Our students learn about ecology and respect for the Earth. They develop a curiosity for the world around them.”

In Fall 2015 a generous donor helped the School transform what was originally a Certified Wildlife Habitat® into an organic Garden to “provide students with essential learning experiences unique to gardening, life science, and ecology.” This was just the beginning.

With a section of the space maintained as a wildlife garden to observe pollinators and bees, the Brimmer Garden is now a hub for science, technology, engineering, math, and creativity. To support an interdisciplinary curriculum, the School’s campus has two solar-powered Davis Instruments weather stations, one of which is located in the Garden and measures soil temperature and moisture. Housing a weather vane, an anemometer, and a bucket for measuring rain fall, this informative device allows students to compare and contrast data and watch for trends and variables. Data is even accessible to students (and their families) on their school-issued iPads via the Davis Weather App.

Lower School students harvest a bountiful crop of carrots headed for the Brimmer Kitchen

The concept of sustainability is the foundation of Brimmer’s Garden curriculum—it’s literally in the soil. The compost, comprised of food scraps leftover from the kitchen and grass and leaves collected by the Building and Grounds team, provides organic soil on-site. Wood chips are made from campus branches and used to insulate the cold frames and raised beds, while rain water collected in barrels hydrates the plants. Students learn to use resources efficiently and understand how to reduce our carbon footprint. “Students see small-scale sustainability working in their own plots,” says Janet Sweezey, grade 3 teacher and Garden Coordinator. “They all share the excitement of keeping the Garden habitat healthy and productive.”

Head of School Judith Guild has an office view of the Garden and a front row seat to this innovative curriculum. “Plants and the systems we know colloquially as ‘gardens’ are a medium for observation and developing the scientific method,” she explains. “These small ecosystems are models that can be simple or complex depending on how broad or deep students and their teachers decide to look. Brimmer’s Garden is an open-ended laboratory.”

Indeed, the Garden is incorporated into the curriculum at every grade level for real-time, hands-on learning with a developmentally appropriate scope and sequence that builds on previous learning and spirals to allow students to explore concepts with increasing complexity and depth.

Kindergarteners hone their observation skills throughout the year by drawing flowers in different stages of growth. After becoming seedling experts in first grade, second graders take the learning to a higher level. Their science soil unit exposes them to organic compost—from how it’s created to how it’s used to support plants. By the time they reach the fourth and fifth grades, students are raising seedlings, plot spacing, transplanting plants to outdoor raised beds, and maintaining the Garden on a weekly basis as part of their Environmental ColLab, an inquiry-based, hands-on science program. Their engaging curriculum focuses on solar and wind energy, climate change, composting, water use, animal biomimicry, and water filtration, all which connect environmental concerns to real life application for students.

Brimmer’s Summer Camp takes over where the school year curriculum leaves off. Specialty camps such as “Brimmer in the Backyard” concentrate on themes related to nature through activities, games, and stories, while taking care of and exploring the bounty of the summer Garden. Additional help from Brimmer’s faculty and staff ensures that the Garden receives proper care and attention year-round, so students can leave for the summer knowing they will jump right back in when they return in the fall.

Brimmer Trustee and parent volunteer Garth Smith P ’25,’27 shows students the proper way to handle seedlings.

Through the School’s farm-to-table partnership, students harvest additional crops such as beets, carrots, and lettuce and deliver them to Chef Michael Sconce in the Brimmer kitchen on a regular basis. He and his staff prepare dishes such as braised collards and chard, and kale chips with olive oil, and they dry and crush chilis for seasoning dishes after the harvest season ends. The strong collaboration between the Garden and kitchen encourages students to be healthier, more adventurous eaters, think about nutrition, and try new vegetables for the first time. “Many young students have no idea where vegetables come from,” Ms. Sweezey remarks. “When they harvest carrots for the first time, some are very surprised to pull a root out of the ground.”

What does the future hold for the Brimmer Garden? Ms. Sweezey and Brimmer’s chief parent Garden volunteer Garth Smith aspire to a future where all the Garden’s plants begin as heirloom seeds, under classroom grow lights. “We eat industrialized vegetables and fruits that over time have been optimized for shape, color, and size,” Mr. Smith notes. “When you start with heirloom seeds, you are contributing to biodiversity, and you begin to see plants growing that you don’t see in the supermarket.”

Regardless of the outcome, the Garden is far more than an outdoor classroom teaching science. It’s a place that brings to life the School’s mission to “develop lifelong learners who are informed, engaged, and ethical citizens and leaders in our diverse world.” As Ina Patel so aptly states, “As lifelong learners, students realize that learning doesn’t end at the classroom door; it happens everywhere.” ■

Students enjoy hands-on learning in Brimmer’s innovative outdoor classroom.

Jody Weinberg served as Brimmer’s Communications Director for 19 years and is now freelancing for the School through her new company, Mass Communications Concepts. Her passion for gardening began as a child, while spending time in her grandfather’s magical seaside garden, and she has been thrilled to watch Brimmer’s Garden literally come to life.