Middle school students in Valdosta are learning the importance of agriculture.
Lowndes County Extension agent (代理人) Joshua Dawson, helped seventh-grade students attending J. L. Newbern Middle School build raised bed plant boxes to grow crops. Dawson's work with the school gardens began in 2014 as a part of the Valdosta School Garden and Orchard Project. Through support from local businesses and members of the community, it is used to introduce Valdosta elementary and middle school students to gardening and agriculture.
Some of the crops grown in the gardens include sweet potatoes, collards, carrots and kale. The harvested (收获的)produce is served by the schools' dining rooms during lunch and students are allowed to take produce home depending on the harvest size.
Helping Dawson with the gardens are members of the local Master Gardener program. With his daily responsibilities as a County Extension agent, Dawson depends heavily on their support. "Without the Master Gardeners, I don't know if any of this would be possible. They look after the gardens and work with the teachers more closely than I, and provide necessary feet on the ground for a lot of things," Dawson said.
At the beginning, the students expressed worries about working in the garden, but Dawson said those doubts disappeared quickly. " I like watering the plants and working with the soil" said Anthony Aikens, a seventh-grader Anthony, who said his favorite subject is science, wants to be a zoologist or a full-time gardener when he grows up.
Dr Elena Ponder, principal of J. L. Newbern Middle School, said this project has attracted many students. She said working in the garden provides students with a cross-curriculum (交叉课程) where they apply different skills to solve problems." Once you plant a garden, you have to attend to that garden. That shows you have the work ethic (职业道德), patience and time to put into something. That will translate into work-related skills they can apply to jobs in the future," she said.
