K-8 Environmental Studies

The La Scuola garden program provides students with a unique opportunity to be in the environment when learning about the environment. They practice empathy and touch, feel, and experience science and math first-hand. They feel a duty to steward the planet and to help others do so, too.

The natural environment quite often provides children with the spontaneity and surprise that leads to new cognitive pathways, curiosities and a sense of wonder. During the lessons in our garden, students explore gardening practices, identification of plants and vegetables, as well as common garden visitors like hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. Through a multi-sensory relationship to the garden, children gain an understanding of the ecology, the cycle of food production and consumption, and a strengthened sense of stewards toward their community.