The Spring Lake Heights (SLH) Gardening Club meets with students both during the school year and throughout the summer providing them with hands-on opportunities to learn about gardening, growing food, and giving back to the community. One of the most meaningful aspects of the program is that 100% of the food grown is donated to local food pantries.
In previous years, the club donated its harvest to the Bradley Beach Food Pantry. Currently, the students are donating their produce to the food pantry at the United Methodist Church in Manasquan. SLH School will also be offering a gardening elective for our fifth-grade students. This allows students to continue developing their gardening skills while learning about the full cycle of growing food.
The students participate in harvesting and donating the remaining crops, as well as preparing the garden for the winter months. Through the SLH gardening club our teachers have cultivated a program that provides students with a meaningful connection between learning, sustainability, and service to others. This goes hand-in-hand with SLH School partnership with Monmouth County’s SUSHI (Suburban and Urban School Health Initiative) Program. This initiative has students from both suburban and urban districts and teaches them about where their food comes from all the while promoting healthy eating and hands-on learning in a farm setting. Each week our fourth-grade students (Suburban) meet students from Belmar Elementary School (Urban) at Allaire Community Farm in Wall Township. There the students work collaboratively to plant their crops, care for them throughout the season, and harvest the food when it is ready.
This program provides students with hands-on experiences that extend learning beyond the classroom. While gardening naturally incorporates concepts from science, mathematics, health, and environmental education. This program also teaches students responsibility, patience, and teamwork. Perhaps equally important, it gives our students the opportunity to build relationships with peers from other school districts throughout Monmouth County. Both the SLH Gardening Club and the SUSHI Program demonstrate the value of experiential learning. They provide our students with opportunities to develop practical skills, make healthy choices and understand where their food comes from. Most importantly, students have the opportunity to recognize the impact they can have on their community through service.
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