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Free Got Dirt? training sessions provide skills and confidence to start school gardens
Posted: 9/30/2009 2:51:42 PM
The University of Wisconsin Extension invites teachers and educators to attend its free Got Dirt? training sessions. The Got Dirt? Gardening Initiative trains teachers to start and maintain gardens at their facilities. Incorporating gardening into the curriculum increases students’ knowledge and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Moreover, gardening offers a fun form of physical activity.
Bill Wright, Brown County community garden’s coordinator, explains, “The Got Dirt? Training session and related teaching manuals give teachers the skills and confidence they need to establish and sustain successful garden programs.”
Training sessions will include a discussion of various gardening techniques, such as cold frame gardening, raised bed gardening, container gardening and microfarms, which can easily be planted at local educational facilities.
Mircofarms, in particular, provide a solution to Wisconsin’s short growing season. Mircrofarms are gardens built on the top of a table or wagon with a light source to help grow vegetables indoors. The microfarm can easily be pulled from classroom to classroom allowing multiple teachers to create an active learning environment and integrate the same garden into a variety of subject areas, such as math, science, English composition, and nutrition.
The training sessions will include a hands-on section, allowing participants to transplant seedlings or learn how planting depth varies with seed sizes.
Information will be provided about funding opportunities, particularly a grant offered by the UW-Extension.
Training sessions will be held throughout the state. The remaining fall training sessions include a session in La Crosse on Oct. 22 and a session in Appleton on Nov. 7. Dates and locations for winter and spring training sessions are still being finalized but will be posted on www.gotdirtwisconsin.org.
While the Got Dirt? Training Session is free, individuals interested in attending should register since space is limited. To register contact Kristen Buettner, Got Dirt? Communications coordinator, at Buettner_KM@co.brown.wi.us or 920-391-4655.
The Got Dirt? Gardening Initiative is funded by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health’s Wisconsin Partnership Program. For more information, please visit www.gotdirtwisconsin.org.
