PORT TOWNSEND — Grant Street Elementary School kindergartners digging a hole to plant a tree Wednesday morning asked a few questions.
“If we go down deep enough, will we hit hot lava?” one student asked.
“Or maybe we’ll get to China?” asked another.
Kate Miller, the school’s garden coordinator, had taken the class into the garden area across the street from the school at 1637 Grant St. for the project.
Miller takes every Grant Street class into the garden once a week to show them how to grow food and appreciate nature.
This week’s project, in honor of Earth Day, is to plant five Liberty apple trees, which involves digging the holes, placing the trees in compost and replacing the soil.
There are lessons along the way.
“Who knows what compost is?” Miller asked.
“It has worm poop in it, and worm poop makes plants grow,” said one child.
It turned out the hole was too deep for the tree, so the children took turns shoveling in the soil until it was the right height for the tree.
Miller has worked with the students since September.
She teaches the same concepts to all grade levels, although third-graders get a lot more scientific detail than those in kindergarten.
“The first rule of the garden is that we treat the earth in the same way as we treat each other: with kindness and respect,” Miller said.
“That’s the foundation of everything we teach.”
Miller said it’s sinking in, as evidenced by a conversation she heard between two students.
One boy talked about squashing a spider. The other stopped him, saying nature needs respect.
“We are giving them an understanding that we are all connected,” Miller said.
“I want to start at that place and go from there, where we can teach them more details about plant and animal life.”
Mary Sepler, the school’s principal, said the garden is multi-disciplinary.
“The garden teaches kids about food, nutrition, science, English and language arts,” Sepler said.
“We don’t have math yet, but we’re working on it.”
The gardening program, which has been in place for about five years, has received a boost from Miller’s presence, Sepler said.
“This is part of our place-based learning design,” Sepler said.
“The kids find their sense of place by learning about where their food comes from.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
