An Interview with Christine Herbert

 

Christine Herbert is the Magnet Theme Corrdinator at Braken STEAM Academy.

 

Who tends the garden? The entire school tends the garden. Each grade level is in charge of 1 to 3 bed gardens.

 

What do you do with the food you grow? We use if for our Junior Chef program with Chef Demos, at Farmer's Markets, and we also give the students a chance to try new fruits and vegetables.

 

How has having a garden benefitted your school? Our students are given the chance to learn how food is grown, as well as try new fruits and vegetables. It gives our kids a chance to move their learning outdoors and have hands-on world experiences.

 

How long has your garden been open? We started building our first gardens 14 years ago and have added new gardens to our school since then. We now have a little over 30 raised bed gardens total.

 

How is growing a garden incorporated into your curriculum? We have developed garden curriculum using the First Generation Science Standards and the Common Core Standards. We also use the garden curriculum that was developed by CCSD teachers through Green Our Planet.

 

Note: Answers may have been edited for clarity.